Chelsea take the short trip to North London where they face a rejuvenated Tottenham side in the late kickoff on Thursday, New Year’s Day.
This match marks the end of the hectic festive period that has seen the Premier League clubs play four matches in 12 days and ushers in the beginning of the second-half of the season. Both sides come into the game on the back of December 28 draws, Spurs at home to Manchester United and Chelsea away to Southampton.
The latter remained three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table after Manuel Pellegrini’s side succumbed to a 2-2 draw with Burnley despite going two goals ahead in the first half.
The result somewhat relieves the pressure on the Blues who have not been so great away from home in recent matches. Spurs, who have shown solidity of late, will surely want to capitalize on that when they file out against José Mourinho’s men at White Hart Lane on Thursday.
The Lilywhites are starting to find some consistency under new manager Mauricio Pochettino after an indifferent start to the season, and they could move into the Champions League spots with a victory against Chelsea if other results go their way.
Pochettino has no new injury worries and will name a largely unchanged XI that held United last Sunday. Nabil Bentaleb is a major doubt after missing the last match due to an illness but he could return in place of Benjamin Stambouli if passed fit before kickoff
Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen have been pivotal in Spurs’ good run of late and it’s expected that both will be in the starting XI for the match, while Kyle Walker and Erik Lamela should replace Vlad Chiriches and Andros Townsend in the line-up.
On the other hand, John Obi Mikel and Andre Schurrle will likely be dropped to the bench after both players put in uninspiring displays against Southampton, with Oscar and Willian serving as replacements.
Cesar Azpilicueta will also return to the left-side of the defense to add to Chelsea’s defensive solidity, while the rest of the starting line-up will remain unchanged from the last game.
Head to head
Games played – 151;
Tottenham wins – 49;
Chelsea wins – 64;
Draws – 38.
