Look at Tottenham Hotspur- they actually won a Premier League fixture! And they scored not just one, not two but three goals in the same game- wow! Granted it was against newly promoted Coventry City, but hey, baby steps here on the road to progress. We’ll see if the North Londoners can do it again in their next match, against their rivals from South London, Chelsea. They will have to overcome some injury and unavailability concerns in order to do so, and the list includes Destiny Udogie, Mykhailo Mudryk and Pedro Porro.
Tottenham Hotspur at Chelsea FC FYIs
Sat. October 24, 5:30 pm, Stamford Bridge
Chelsea Team News: Part 1 Part 2
Tottenham Team News: Part 1 Part 2
Form Guide, Standings: Chelsea LDLWWW 4th, 13 pts Tottenham DDLDW, 16th 6 pts
Probabilities via Google: Chelsea win 57%, Draw 22%, Tottenham win 21%
Spurs Team News
Let’s start with Mudryk, who is nearing a return to full fitness, but…Chelsea is his parent club, so even if he were to be passed fit, he’s ineligible on Saturday. As for Porro, his thigh injury has been a nagging one, as it feels like the timeline with him just keeps getting shifted back. However, Spurs boss Roberto de Zerbi offered this quote a couple days ago: “I think he’s coming – maybe in Chelsea he can play.”
So we’ll see on that. The news is not as good for Udogie, who is a strong doubt here, with a knee injury.
And then finally, the win over Coventry brought new potential injury concerns, in regard to Omar Marmoush, Tosin Adarabioyo and Andy Robertson.
“No, no, no, I think there are no injuries, nothing important,” De Zerbi said, when answering a question about the trio, on Monday.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.