Tottenham v Chelsea Preview

Tottenham and Chelsea meet at White Hart Lane in their private battle for third place in the Premier League.  Tottenham regained their hold on third with a single goal win over Sunderland while Chelsea dropped two points at Wigan last weekend.

Thursday evening's match is crucial for both Tottenham and Chelsea in their endeavours to close the gap on the two Manchester clubs who head the Premier League table.  Defeat for either club would be a big blow at the start of the busy holiday period and both clubs will be hoping that injury doubts can be overcome so that they can field their strongest teams for such a vital game.  Chelsea have had a disappointing start to the season compared with previous years - and have lacked their normal consistency both as a team and as individuals.

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They dropped two points on Saturday, the Wigan goal coming from a mistake by their usually reliable goalkeeper,  Petr Cech.  The previous Monday evening, however, Chelsea inflicted the first League defeat of the season on Manchester City, coming back from conceding an early goal to win through a first half equaliser from Raul Meireles and a late Frank Lampard penalty.

New manager, Andre Villas-Boas, has taken time to find his best team and has ruffled a few feathers among the established Chelsea players heirarchy by omitting some of them from the team on occasions - Lampard, Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Alex and Nicolas Anelka.  With the results not always going as Chelsea would have wanted, including two home defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal, Villas-Boas has been under considerable pressure early in his Stamford Bridge managerial career.

Chelsea's draw on Saturday was only their second this season, having drawn at Stoke on the opening day of the season.  Their away record also includes four wins at Newcastle (3 - 0), Wolves (3 - 0), Blackburn (1 - 0) and Bolton (5 - 1).  They suffered defeat at Manchester United (1 - 3) in September and at QPR (0 - 1).  The loss at Loftus Road was eventful for a variety of reasons, including the dismissal of Jose Bosingwa and Drogba before half-time and allegations that John Terry racially abused Anton Ferdinand, a matter for which he has been charged by the police and is to appear in court at the beginning of February.

Their win at St. James' Park also caught media attention over the referee's failure to send off David Luiz in the fourth minute when his foul prevented a clear goal scoring opportunity.  Drogba scored before half-time and two late goals rather flattered them.

Their leading goalscorer is Daniel Sturridge with nine, eight in the League.  He has impressed since returning from last season's loan spell with Bolton Wanderers.  While Lampard has not always been in their starting team, he has still accumulated 8 goals (7 in the League) but Drogba has only managed two in the Premier League.  Ramieres and Mata have three each and John Terry has scored four.  Terry appears to have overcome his injury scare in training on Monday and will be fit to play.

Tottenham have their own injury worries ahead of the game with Aaron Lennon definitely missing while doubts surround Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe who both missed Sunday's win over Sunderland.  The usual late decision will determine whether Ledley King will be able to play his second game inside four days.

Tottenham's Recent Home League Record against Chelsea
It is well documented that Spurs' record against Chelsea in the Premier League era is poor, so I don't intend to dwell on that and will focus on the recent years since November, 2006 which has seen Tottenham overcome their Chelsea hoodoo at the Lane.

Nov. 2006  PL  Won 2 - 1  Dawson, Lennon
Chelsea took the lead after fifteen minutes but Michael Dawson equalised from a free-kick ten minutes later.  Seven minutes into the second half, Aaron Lennon put Spurs ahead after good work on the left by Robbie Keane.  John Terry was sent off with eighteen minutes remaining and Spurs held out for their first victory over Chelsea in nineteen years.


Mar. 2008  PL  Draw 4 - 4  Woodgate, Berbatov, Huddlestone, Keane
Chelsea were ahead after three minutes through Drogba but Jonathan Woodgate equalised after twelve.  Essien restored the visitors' lead after twenty minutes and Joe Cole increased it early in the second half.  Ten minutes later Dimitar Berbatov reduced the lead and Tom Huddlestone equalised with thirteen minutes left.  Cole added his second, three minutes later to restore Chelsea's advantage, only for Robbie Keane to score with two minutes left with a beautiful curled shot.  With the match in added time, Berbatov missed an opportunity to snatch victory for Spurs.  

Mar. 2009  PL  Won 1 - 0  Modric
A well struck shot from Luka Modric, set up by Aaron Lennon, early in the second half gave Spurs the three points.  It was a great team effort with Heurelho Gomes making a number of crucial saves as the game drew to a close.


Apr. 2010  PL  Won 2 - 1  Defoe (pen), Bale
A week earlier Spurs had lost top Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-final but had beaten Arsenal at the Lane three days later as their renewed drive for Champions League football got underway.  Spurs had the perfect start with a Defoe penalty after fifteen minutes.  They doubled their lead a minute from the interval through Gareth Bale who left his defender trailing before scoring past Cech.  Chelsea's goal came in the final minute from Frank Lampard. 

Dec. 2010  PL  Draw 1 - 1  Pavlyuchenko 
Michael Dawson returned for last season's game, having been absent since September with injury.  Roman Pavlyuchenko put Spurs ahead after fifteen minutes from a Jermain Defoe cross.  Tottenham held the early ascendancy but in the second half the introduction of Didier Drogba gave the visitors some inspiration and he equalised with twenty minutes remaining, when Dawson slipped as he challenged and Gomes allowed a fierce drive which was straight at him, go into the net.  Spurs avoided defeat in the final minute when Gomes redeemed himself by saving a Drogba penalty which he had conceded.

Previous Success Against Chelsea
Feb. 1990  1st Div.  (a)  Won 2 - 0  Howells, Lineker

Aug. 1987  1st Div.  (h)  Won 1 - 0  Claesen  

Tottenham, with two away games over Christmas, will want to take all three points to aid their own progress while denting those of one of their nearest rivals.  To have any chance of getting close enough to United and City to put in a challenge for the title, they need to win their home games and maintain their impressive record in London derbies.  Fitness worries will be a concern but they have adapted well so far to meet different problems so hopefully they will be prepared for the battle that will be required to overcome a Chelsea side who have extensive experience of coping with such important games.

Tottenham's Record at West Brom

Spurs' games against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns have proved difficult for them in the past.  Spurs look to extend their undefeated Premier League run which has stretched to nine games while Albion are in mid-table in tenth place.

West Bromwich Albion had a difficult start to the season with opening matches against Manchester United and at Chelsea.  They lost both in close games and then lost at home to Stoke.  Their first win came in mid-September at Norwich before losing by three goals at Swansea.  They then drew with Fulham and at Sunderland before defeating their Midlands neighbours, Wolverhampton Wanderers at home and Aston Villa at Villa Park.  A home defeat to Liverpool was followed by a loss at Arsenal.  Last weekend they defeated Bolton (2 - 1) at the Hawthorns. 

Shane Long is their leading scorer with 4 goals, while Peter Odemwingie has two.  They have scored only five goals in six home games, conceding six from two wins over Wolves and Bolton and a draw against Fulham.  Their home defeats have been against Manchester United, Stoke and Liverpool.  Every home game has been close with only Liverpool managing to gain a two goal advantage.  This is in line with Roy Hodgson's style of management.  He presents his team in a way which makes them difficult to beat - hard-working and well organised, while able to break quickly and use set-pieces to their advantage.

During the summer West Bromwich strengthened their squad by signing a number of players at a minimum of expense.  Irish forward Shane Long came from Reading for an undisclosed fee.  Hungarian and former Tottenham reserve goalkeeper  Marton Fulop and Northern Ireland defender Gareth McAuley were signed on free transfers from Ipswich Town.  Hungarian midfielder Zoltan Gera was a free transfer from Fulham and goalkeeper Ben Foster came on loan from Birmingham City.  Midfielder Billy Jones was a free transfer from Preston.  Albion have an experienced line-up but can call upon talented younger players, especially in central defence with Craig Dawson who has been very impressive with the England Under-21 side this year.

Tottenham and West Bromwich Albion have only met on five occasions at the Hawthorns in the Premier League due to Albion's tendency to win promotion and then get relegated the following season.  They avoided the drop last year after Roy Hodgson's arrival last February led to a revival which lifted them to an eleventh place finish, their highest for almost thirty years.

Tottenham's Away Premier League Record against West Brom:

P  5  W  1  D  2  L  2  For  5  Ag  8

League Record at The Hawthorns (inc. PL) 

P   58  W  14  D  10  L  34  For  73  Ag  122

As can be seen from the above statistics, The Hawthorns has never been a happy hunting ground for Spurs, something they will want to rectify on Saturday.  Their last win at The Hawthorns was in the first Premier League game to be played there between the two sides in season 2002 - 03.  Tottenham won 3 - 2 with Robbie Keane scoring twice and Teddy Sheringham getting one as Spurs completed the 'double' over their Midlands rivals.  Albion were relegated at the end of that season, having been absent from top flight football for sixteen years. 

Premier League Results at The Hawthorns

Apr. 2003  P  Won 3 - 2  Keane (2), Sheringham

Twice Albion who were already relegated took the lead but first Robbie Keane equalised on the stroke of half-time and then Teddy Sheringham scored two minutes after West Brom had regained the lead.  Keane's second goal came with five minutes left.  Sheringham's strike was his last goal for the club.

Aug. 2004  PL  Draw 1 - 1  Defoe

Gera gave Albion the lead after three minutes but Jermain Defoe levelled after 34 minutes.  Both clubs maintained their undefeated start to the new season.

Dec. 2005  PL  Lost  0 - 2

More festive disappointment for Tottenham's travelling fans as tow goals, one in each half, from Kanu saw them suffer their first defeat in seven games. 

Dec. 2008  PL  Lost 0 - 2

Tottenham had Benoit Assou-Ekotto sent off ten minutes before half-time but held out until late in the game before conceding two goals in the final seven minutes.

Sept. 2010  PL  Draw 1 - 1  Modric

Luka Modric gave Spurs an early lead but went off injured a few minutes later.  Chris Brunt equalised just before half-time and in the second half Spurs had goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini to thank for keeping them in the game.

In this period there was also an FA Cup 4th Round tie in January, 2005 which ended 1 - 1, Defoe scoring for Spurs who won the replay 3 - 1 with Defoe scoring twice.  Defoe has scored five goals for Tottenham against WBA in League and Cup matches.

Such is the intensity of competition at the top of the Premier League that no team can afford any slip-ups so having risen to third place Spurs need another win to be guaranteed of retaining that position.  West Bromwich will be difficult opponents - they made it hard for Manchester United earlier in the season and will be equally determined to put in a good performance against Spurs.  Tottenham will be looking to continue the impressive form of recent weeks and make the most of the chances they create so that Albion aren't given any encouragement or opportunity to deprive them of the points they require to continue their march towards the summit of the Premier League table.