Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Is this the day that the title race is finally ended or will Tottenham extend the battle for at least another week. If they are to do so then they will need to win at Stamford Bridge Tonight, a feat they haven’t managed to pull off since 1990. Will Chelsea end their cross city rivals title hopes once and for all?
The gap now stands at 8 points after Leicester’s party was postponed yesterday after only coming away with a solitary point from Old Trafford yesterday. That means the celebrations will have to be delayed but it could be a case that Leicester may be celebrating by the end of the night if Tottenham fail to win later this evening.
The was an air of resignation at White Hart Lane last Monday night after Mauricio Pochettino’s side dropped two precious points at home to West Brom. But all the chances of them winning the title are slim while it’s still mathematically possible then there is still hope and Pochettino’s charges will still be confident that they can take all 3 points from the short trip to Chelsea.
They will have to do that without the suspended Dele Alli who is out for the rest for the season due to suspension. His punch on Claudio Yacob was spotted on the television cameras and he was handed a 3 match ban by the F.A. for his act of petulance.
A difficult now made all the harder with the absence of Alli but Tottenham still have plenty of options in their attacking midfield unit. Nacer Chadli could be pushing for a start to replace Alli, another option is to move Christian Eriksen into the centre of pitch to play just off Harry Kane.
Spurs will go up against a Chelsea who have nothing to play for but would love nothing more than to end their local rivals title hopes, if they were to do that then they would also end their own reign as champions as the crown would then be passed onto Leicester.
Chelsea players have made it very clear that they are planning to do their upmost in terms of stopping Tottenham’s title tilt. With Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas both going on record saying that they would much rather Leicester become champions.
Last time out they strolled to a 4-1 victory over Bournemouth at The Vitality Stadium and they currently find themselves 10th in the league although a win for Guus Hiddink’s side would see them leapfrog Stoke and move back into 9th place.
It’s going to be a difficult task for Tottenham tonight, you wonder how much the draw against West Brom would have deflated them but with the game and the season now at a stage of win or bust they will have to pick themselves up and shake off any lingering feelings from last Monday’s game
Manchester United did them a favour but now they have to do their part of the deal, Chelsea will stand in their way and they are certainly are not going to roll over in what is always a fiery London Derby. The history books have been incredibly kind to Chelsea in this fixture
And I have a feeling history will be repeated as Chelsea will start the champions parade by ending Tottenham’s title hopes. I think it’s going to be another frustrating draw I think and one that finally hands the title to Leicester City. The race will finally be run by 10pm tonight.
Papa Johns – If your team scores twice then it’s half price
