Chelsea host their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in a match that’s a near must-win for the Blues. Five points behind Spurs for the last slot in the top four, with only seven games remaining after this one, Chelsea will be in serious Champions League qualification peril if they don’t take all three points here.
Meanwhile Spurs have major ambitions of their own in this contest. Tottenham wants to end their nearly three decades long drought without a victory at Stamford Bridge. Let’s take a look at the injury and fitness situations for both sides.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte gave his prematch news conference today, where he informed the media that David Luiz will be out injured for three weeks due to a knee issue. The Blues boss also said that checks need to be made on goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defender Andreas Christensen to see if they can be fit in time to play on Sunday.
Defender Ross Barkley, still battling a hamstring issue, will play for the club’s Development Squad on Saturday. Ethan Ampadu (ankle) is out for the remainder of the season.
On the other side, Tottenham will be without face of the franchise striker Harry Kane, meaning Heung-min Son will lead the line at Stamford Bridge.
Also, Harry Winks (ankle) will be on the sidelines while Toby Alderweireld’s continued rehabilitation is being monitored and assessed. He did play 90 minutes for Belgium this week in their 4-0 rout of Saudi Arabia Tuesday night.
Odds: Chelsea 7/5, Draw 23/10, Tottenham 9/4
Antonio Conte press conference video: go to this link
Chelsea starting XI prediction: go to this link
Tottenham Hotspur starting XI prediction: go to this link
Prediction: Chelsea 1, Tottenham 0
Feel free to post your own Chelsea and/or Tottenham starting XI predictions, as well as your best guess as to what the final score will be.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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