Hosts Tottenham Hotspur take on fellow London rivals Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in the Premier League on Thursday night.

After looking like strong title contenders in the early parts of the season, Tottenham’s form has declined and they are now seemingly focused on their top four prospects. Spurs are currently placed 7th in the points table. They come into this game after back-to-back losses, against Liverpool and Brighton. A victory here will take them to 6th place in the points table, one position above Everton.

Chelsea has had a horrid run in the last two months, losing 5 of their 8 league games. However, they come here with a 2-match-long unbeaten run and are yet to concede a shot on target under their new manager, Thomas Tuchel. The Blues are level on points with Spurs and a win here will propel them to 6th place in the points table, a situation similar to the hosts.

This will be the 169th meeting between these two teams. Chelsea have the upper hand, having won 72 matches as compared to 55 wins for Spurs. The remaining 41 games have been drawn.

The previous meeting between the two teams took place in November last year and ended in a goalless draw. Both teams will look to put up a better performance in this match.

Rivalry Stats

Tottenham have lost 2 of their last 3 home league games against Chelsea (W1), suffering more losses than they did in their previous 11 games (W5, D5, L1). They haven’t lost consecutive home league games against the Blues since a streak of three losses between April 2004 and August 2005.

Spurs have won just 3 of their last 13 Premier League games, which was not a part of (D4, L6), including none of their last 4 games (D1, L3). One of those last 4 winless matches without Kane was against Chelsea in February 2020. That ended in a 1-2 defeat for Spurs.

Chelsea have remained unbeaten in their last 4 Premier League meetings with Spurs (W3 D1), keeping a clean sheet in three of the games.

The Blues have lost 4 of their last 5 away league games (W1), just as many losses as they had in their previous 16  away games (W7, D5).

Match Details

• Match: Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
• Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
• Date & Time: Jan. 5, 2021 at 1.30 AM IST 

Team News

Tottenham Hotspur

• Injured: D Alli, S Reguilon, H Kane, G Lo Celso
• Doubtful: T Ndombele
• Unavailable/Suspended: None

Chelsea

• Injured: None
• Doubtful: None
• Unavailable/Suspended: None

Predicted Starting XI

Tottenham Hotspur (3-4-3)

H Lloris (GK); T Alderweireld, E Dier, J Rodon; M Doherty, P-Emile Hojbjerg, M Sissoko, B Davies; S Bergwijn, C Vinicius, H Son-Min

Chelsea (3-4-2-1)

E Mendy (GK); C Azpilicueta, T Silva, A Rudiger; C Hudson-Odoi, M Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, M Alonso; C Pulisic, T Werner; O Giroud

• Tottenham Hotspur form guide: L-L-W-W-D
• Chelsea form guide: W-D-W-L-W

Match Prediction

It is difficult to see where the goals might come from for Tottenham with Kane being injured. It will be challenging for Spurs  to get the better of Chelsea, who are yet to concede under Tuchel.

The Blues still have a few issues to resolve, but the early signs are positive. They boast a strong recent record in this fixture, so expect a narrow win for Chelsea in this match.

Howzat Dream Team

• Goalkeeper: H Lloris
• Defenders: T Alderweireld, E Dier, M Doherty, M Alonso, T Silva
• Midfielders: P-Emile Hojbjerg, C Hudson-Odoi, N’Golo Kante, C Pulisic
• Forward: H Min-Son

• Captain: H Lloris/M Doherty
• Vice Captain: C Pulisic/N’Golo Kante

NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own fantasy football team by using your knowledge and fantasy premier league tips. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual starting 11 is announced by each team (60 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the fantasy 11.

Select your own team and play fantasy football on your favorite fantasy football app, Howzat!