A nerve-wracking and full of excitement promising season of the Premier League has commenced and the second gameweek will continue to keep the fans at the edge of their seats as two London rivals Chelsea & Tottenham Hotspur clash in a match that has the potential to be the Match of the Season. The dugouts of both the teams have identities sharing some rich history and the rivalries on the pitch will be the talking point for the week coming. Antonio Conte’s Spurs play the Blues in their first game at Stamford Bridge of this season. The two teams can boast off their great business of the pitch, as both the managers term their teams under a stage of re-build.
Chelsea vs Spurs match could very well be the test for both the squads and help them understand how much water does their ship sails. Conte’s team has been trusted to be the closest to City and Liverpool but can the Blues continue their recent domination in London or does Tottenham results in a Magnifique performance at the Bridge?
WHERE AND WHEN?
Venue: Stamford Bridge.
Date: Sunday, 14th August 2022.
Time: 16:30 (BST).
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Assistant referee: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn.
Fourth official: Peter Bankes.
VAR: Mike Dean.
Assistant VAR: Mark Scholes.
TEAM NEWS
Chelsea center-backs, Koulibaly and Silva, looked in a bit of discomfort during the last minutes of the match but both look fit for Tuchel’s selection for Sunday. Chelsea started two of their new signings in form of Sterling and Koulibaly but the eye-catching debut was of Cucurella as the Spaniard came off the bench after signing just a couple of days back. While Chilwell helped Chelsea the match-deciding penalty, he was not up to the mark on the pitch and thus the Spaniard could very well be thrown in the mix from the starting minute this weekend. With Werner’s departure announced, Hudson-Odoi and Alonso looking for moves abroad, the duo will also not be part of the squad.
Conte trusted his last season’s squad to start the Premier League with all the new signings making the bench. It will be interesting to see if Conte advances with the same approach as the last week or if the new signings can make a stake for starting spots. Skipp remains out of the tie due to his injury but there still is a chance for Tanganga to make a comeback, but will likely still not make the starting XI. Bissouma, Richarlison and Lenglet are definitely racking up to get their starting debut for Spurs and will love to make it big in the London derby.
MATCH ANALYSIS
This season of the Premier League will once again welcome the edging London derbies, which will very well be deciding factors on various standings in the season. The first of these welcomes Conte back to the Bridge but this time after him being backed by the board and assembling a squad that he wished for. The Italian Manager, in January after their clash with the Blues, was honest to admit that his team was not near to what Chelsea had. But after Chelsea losing on some crucial squad players and Conte adding some great names, the squad very much looked balance and the manager will have no excuses for the result. A win here for either team will be nothing less than a statement in the league.
Bringing a number of players in the window has ensured that both teams have enough squad depth but the managers still feel that they are a couple of players short of their desired lineups. Including the players and getting them running could be a tough ask so early in the season, but the manager who does this better will edge the game.
The visitors impressed in their first game as they netted past Southampton’s defence 4 times after conceding an early goal. The team looked very well drilled in the typical Conte system and undoubtedly was one of the most impressive teams of the first week, if not the best. Backing their performance, it will not be wrong to expect Tottenham to get a result at Stamford Bridge. Kulusevski in the front line was fairly impressive as the Swedish International somehow overshadowed the brilliant duo of Kane and Son. This just doesn’t mean that the duo can be discounted as both Kane and Son will be looking to get their goals tally running. A tough choice for Conte and the team could be the inclusion of Perisic as Sessegnon impressed on the left side and backed his performance with a goal.
Contrary to Spurs’ impressive performance, Tuchel’s men lacked the flair but managed to grind results against the sturdy Everton squad. ‘Change in the season but a similar performance’ was quoted by every Chelsea fan as, despite solid defending, the attack lacked the flair. Sterling was the only positive in the forward line but the team still was not even close to scoring from an open play. Koulibaly was impressive with his defensive attributes and also looked great in distribution alongside a rock-solid Thiago Silva. Tuchel will be still looking to help his team find some rhythm in attack and could even be backed by shuffling in the front line. The impervious-looking backline could be under threat as well, with all three center-backs on the other side of their 30s, could be challenged well by the dynamic movements of Kane, Son and Kulusevski. Tuchel would not mind a point from the game as he still looks to glue the team and even looking for some missing pieces in the transfer market.
Player Analysis
Kalidou Koulibaly
It was just impressive to witness a new signing to make a mark so early in the very first game in the Premier League, as the Senegalese Captain looked ever-ready in his debut against Everton. In his 75 minutes on the pitch, he was able to catch the eye of every fan and did not let them feel Rudiger’s absence. He dropped some jaw-dropping numbers as he completed 100% of his dribbles, was the winner in 2/3rd of all his tackles, completed half-a-century passes, and managed an impressive last-man tackle to deny Everton’s threat. Against the dynamic front three of Spurs, his speed will be the key factor as his recovery will very well determine the fate of Conte’s traditional counter-attacks. He will be flanked by either Chilwell or Cucurella on his left, both of whom would benefit from his long balls in the final-third, to help pierce the back 5 of Spurs. One should not count off him taking some unexpected shots outside the box, if given space from his side.
Harry Kane
England’s Golden Boy is gearing up for the World Cup and many believe that this could be the English star’s best season to come under Antonio Conte. Conte has managed to help strikers in his team to produce some magical numbers, including the likes of Diego Costa and Lukaku. A full pre-season under the Italian could help Kane climb another step of success in his career. The prolific striker already has 6 goals against his London rivals but the last of his goals against the Blues dates back to the 2018/19 season. The striker will be looking to get off the mark this season and also end his drought against the Blues helping his team to have a remarkable start to their season.
Son and Kulusevski have built some good partnership up top with the Englishman, with the trio holding record numbers for goal contributions since their union. Harry Kane will this time be backed by Richarlison on the bench to hurt the hosts. His link-up play and playing with a back against Thiago Silva will be a battle to watch out for. While the Brazilian defender edges Kane with his strength and experience, the Englishman has speed and agility in his corner to get the better of Chelsea’s rock at the back.
PREDICTED XI
Chelsea predicted XI vs Tottenham: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Kante, Kovacic, Cucurella; Mount, Pulisic; Sterling.
Tottenham predicted XI vs Chelsea: Lloris; Emerson, Romero, Dier, Lenglet, Sessegnon; Betancur, Hojbjerg; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
