In terms of brand name recognition, Tottenham Hotspur at Chelsea FC on Saturday is the Premier League weekend’s headliner. However, if you’re trying to pick out the most high quality game, then Leicester City vs Manchester City is where it’s at.
Chelsea-Tottenham is a battle between the fourth and fifth place teams while City vs. Leciester is a tussle of the second and third place sides. Let’s take a look at the team news for the London derby.
Jose Mourinho’s injury list is getting longer by the day with Harry Kane and Son-Heung Min unlikely to feature again this season. Moussa Sissoko and Juan Foyth are also out, while Giovani Lo Celso, Erik Lamela and Ben Davies have only just returned to training in recent days, and are us thus not up to full match fitness yet.
In a disappointing 1-0 home loss to RB Leipzig, in the first leg of their UCL round of 16 tie, Mourinho emphasized how his players “did everything they could do,” given how short-handed they are. There will certainly be no sympathy from their opponents, who have plenty of fitness issues of their own.
Not that they would be sympathetic anyway, even if Frank Lampard had a fully fit squad to choose from. Midfield maestro N’Golo Kante who was forced off early during Monday night’s loss to Manchester United with a groin injury. Marco van Ginkel (knee) is a long-term absentee while wing players Callum Hudson-Odoi (hamstring) and Christian Pulisic (abductor) are also sidelined for this one.
With Pulisic, his hip muscle problem had improved recently, until he suffered another set back in recovery.
Tottenham Hotspur at Chelsea FC FYIs
February 22, 12:30 pm, Stamford Bridge
Starting XI predictions: Chelsea Tottenham Hotspur
TV: BT Sport 1
Referee: Michael Oliver
Form Guide: Chelsea LDDLW Tottenham WWWDL
Probabilities via Google: Chelsea win 56%, Draw 24%, Tottenham win 20%
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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