News. Sports. Arts & Entertainment. Politics
Last night saw Harry Kane and Tottenham Hotspur open the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in style, with a 2–0 win over Crystal Palace. It’s been a long, long wait, but the stadium is finally here and Spurs settled right in.
Now we head into the stretch run, with Spurs one of four teams fighting for the final two UEFA Champions League slots. The following pages are the most important for assessing the top four race.
Follow paulmbanks
It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, made by Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri when he picks his first team for his side’s next match, at home against Brighton & Hove Albion. Sarri left Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante and Callum Hudson-Odoi out of his initial XI, angering Chelsea fans worldwide.
This decision probably also had a lot to do with why and how Chelsea fell behind, and found themselves trailing until very late in the match. It’s easy to see why Hudson-Odoi still wants out, and how a move to Bayern Munich would be good for him- because he’s just not getting time here.
Follow paulmbanks
Chelsea were as lucky as possible yesterday to escape Cardiff City with a 2-1, come-from-behind win. The Blues were the very fortunate recipients of two horribly blown calls that may have cost the Bluebirds a realistic chance of not getting relegated.
The referee-aided outcome also kept the Blues from falling into a deep hole in the race for the top four. While Chelsea were losing on Sunday, thousands of Blues supporters in attendance at Cardiff were calling for the head of Maurizio Sarri, their team’s manager.
Follow paulmbanks
Chelsea FC were certainly much more lucky than good in their controversial, come-from-behind 2-1 victory at Cardiff City today. At least a couple, perhaps even three or four, calls went against the hosts and may prove to ultimately doom them in the fight to stave off relegation.
Had Cardiff won, as they deserved, it would have moved them just two points behind Burnley for the final safety spot. In addition to the impact on the drop zone, this result also had massive implications for the top four race.
Follow paulmbanks
Chelsea came back and won at Cardiff City today, thanks to a couple of extremely questionable calls going their way. However, the Blues spent the bulk of this game either trailing or in stalemate and that inspired the Blues supporters who made the trip to the Welsh capital to express their strong discontent with Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri and his tactics.
Follow paulmbanks
Chelsea FC head to Cardiff City in a Premier League clash where something simply has to give. The Blues have been goalless in five of their last six domestic road fixtures while Cardiff have scored only 27 times in total this entire term.
Add to that the fact that both sides have scored in just three of the Bluebirds last 13 across all competitions, and one can expect this Sunday matinee to be pretty low scoring.
Follow paulmbanks
After multiple attempts to sign Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi in the past two transfer windows, German giants Bayern Munich will be back after him again this summer. Complicating matters, this time they will see competition from Borussia Dortmund, according to The Telegraph.
Yes, it appears we could see a summer transfer window Der Klassikar battle for the young English international who still isn’t finding a regular place in the team at Stamford Bridge. With Christian Pulisic already Chelsea bound this summer, it doesn’t appear that CHO’s playing time situation will improve at all.
Follow paulmbanks
After Chelsea were surprisingly up-ended by Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park yesterday, Blues manager Maurizio Sarri verbally unleashed upon his own team.
This is obviously not the first, or even the second time he’s lashed out at his own roster of players. As tipped by The Sports Report, Chelsea played well enough to win in the first half, but fell apart after halftime. The loss left them with the second most defeats away from home in the Premier League, behind only Fulham, the league’s penultimate side.
Follow paulmbanks
Chelsea FC have had a very troubled recent history when it comes to their supporters engaging in racist and anti-Semitic behavior. It’s been a re-occurring theme this season, but in this instance it is Chelsea who are the victims of racial abuse.
It was supporters of the opponent, in this case Dynamo Kiev, engaging in the deplorable behavior this time. The incident occurred Thursday night in the closing stages of Chelsea’s 5-0 Europa League win at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine.
Follow paulmbanks
Chelsea face a quick turnaround as they travel back from Kiev on Thursday night and then play at Everton on Sunday afternoon. The good news is that they will take on a team that has won just one of their last eight home games, so you got to like the Blues’ chances in this one.
Chelsea are currently sitting sixth in the Premier League table, one point behind Manchester United and two behind Arsenal, but they have a game in hand on both. It promises to be a really fierce run-in here over the last eight games.
Follow paulmbanks
Everton host Chelsea FC on Sunday looking to break out of their recent funk before they enter the first international break of 2019. The Toffees have won just one match in their last six, and they will be hosting a side that they have not historically performed very well against.
The all-time series has seen 72 Chelsea wins, 54 Everton wins and 54 draws. Will Sunday see a deviation from the trend? Will the Evertonians make their presence felt in the top four race? Let’s take a look at the fitness situation for both sides, starting with the hosts.
Follow paulmbanks
By Joseph Connolly
As we move into the last couple of months of EPL play the tensions are starting to mount with clubs all across the country desperate to secure their dream place. Freetips.com looks at the upcoming match between Everton and Chelsea FC at Goodison Park.
Follow paulmbanks