Tottenham and Draw (Double Chance) – 4/7
As everyone is surely aware at this stage, Chelsea aren’t having a great time of it under Maurizio Sarri. Aside from the Kepa farrago in the Charabanc Cup final, they’ve lost spectacularly several times over the past few weeks, including a 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Man United, a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Man City and, perhaps most remarkably, a 4-0 stuffing courtesy of Bournemouth.
The Sarri era looks to be drawing to a close, and with high-flying local rivals Tottenham trekking across London on Wednesday evening you don’t imagine there’s much relief to be found for the Italian in the short-term. That said, Spurs went down to Burnley in their previous fixture and actually lost (on penalties) to Chelsea the last time the two teams met.
But Spurs’ loss to the Clarets came after four wins on the bounce, and despite many mentions of the word “bottlers”, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been consistent this season. You’d have to think they have what it takes to come away from Stamford Bridge with at least a point.
Pick: Tottenham and Draw (Double Chance) – 4/7
Total Match Goals: Over 2.5 – 8/11
As we’ve pointed out above, Chelsea have been shipping goals at a fair old rate – 16 in their last 10 games in all competitions, in fact, which is more than Liverpool have conceded in the league this season. To be fair to them, they’ve kept clean sheets in their last two matches, but one of those was a cup final and the other was a home fixture against Malmo.
In seven of those 10 Chelsea matches, there have been three or more goals scored. Considering Chelsea’s recent travails and the fact only two sides have scored more in the league than Spurs this season, you’d have to reckon there will be goals in this one.
Verdict: Over 2.5 match goals – 8/11
Harry Kane to score anytime – 13/10
Well, since we’ve said there will be goals, it’s probably worth considering who might score them, especially since it’s a same game multi we’re backing.
In truth, it seems a bit of a no-brainer, this one. Harry Kane has scored 15 times already this season, including one in that Burnley defeat. On top of that, he scored the winner the last time he played against Chelsea and also bagged one in the teams’ previous meeting in the league.
Do we need to say much more than that?
Verdict: Harry Kane to score anytime – 13/10
Odds correct at time of posting.
Match Odds: Chelsea 6/5 | Draw 23/10 | Tottenham 9/4