Tottenham Begin Life at Wembley with Tough Test
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Two of the early season Premier League title favourites go head-to-head in the second round of matches this season as Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea.
This fixture would usually have taken place at Tottenham’s home ground of White Hart Lane but while their new stadium is under construction, Tottenham will play all their home games at Wembley Stadium this season.
Tottenham finished second in the Premier League last season and continued their development under Mauricio Pochettino. Not only did they score the highest number of goals of any team in the Premier League, they also conceded the least amount of goals and can consider themselves unlucky Chelsea were so strong.
They opened the 2017/18 Premier League campaign with a good 2-0 win at Newcastle United. It’s not always easy to travel north to play Newcastle in-front of their own fans, especially on the opening day of the season.
However, Tottenham acquitted themselves well and scored two second half goals through Dele Alli and Ben Davies to seal the win. They were rarely troubled at the back and already appear to be a team capable of challenging at the top again this season.
Things did not start so well for Chelsea last week and they began their title defence with a poor 3-2 home defeat to Burnley.
The sending of Gary Cahill did not help matters early on but Chelsea showed very little fight as Burnley took full advantage of their superior numbers. The Clarets raced into a shock 3 goal lead before half-time and withheld a Chelsea comeback in the second half to take maximum points at Stamford Bridge.
Burnley struggled away from home last season and Chelsea were expected to win that match with plenty to spare. The pressure is now on Antonio Conte and his players to produce not only a good performance but pick something up from this game against Tottenham. The Blues lost five league games all last season and do not want to begin with two defeats.
Tottenham must continue to make do without left-back Danny Rose and attacking midfielder Erik Lamela, who are both injured. Right-back Kieran Trippier is close to making a return and may be on the bench.
Chelsea with be without the suspended Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas, who are both out following their red cards against Burnley last weekend. Therefore, Conte is left without much room for manoeuvre in his team selection, especially as Eden Hazard and Tiemoue Bakayoko are unlikely to be available.
David Luiz may be forced to play in midfield and Andreas Christensen will come into the back three, with the returning Victor Moses playing right-wing back.
Tottenham will be determined to silence the doubters and start life at Wembley with a victory. The midfield area could prove key in this match and Tottenham are at full strength, while Chelsea are well short.
Not only do Tottenham look good defensively, they have real quality going forward and will be confident of picking up a win against an under-strength Chelsea team. Tottenham could win this game without conceding a goal, which would be the perfect way to begin their campaign at the home of English football.
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