Premier League 2022-23: Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

On Sunday night, Spurs will look to further cement their place in the 4th spot as they face the Blues in Matchday 25 of the Premier League.

Antonio Conte’s men pulled off a decent performance at San Siro against AC Milan but a solitary goal by Brahim Diaz succumbed them to a 1-0 defeat in their 1st leg tie of Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League. Their league form has been decent enough to show for their 4th spot in the Premier League table as they sit on 42 points after 24 games.  But they have lost all three of their Premier League home games against Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by an aggregate of 6-0 -they had only lost two of their previous 13 at home against The Blues before making the move (D5, W6).

Chelsea on the other hand have found it hard to get by in the recent weeks as their loss against Southampton last week meant that The Blues have only registered one win since the turn of the year. Graham Potter is under serious scrutiny as all the big money signings have not proved fruitful yet. Sitting at 10th in the table with just 31 points, it has been a woeful season for The Blues till now. But they can take inspiration from the fact that they are unbeaten in eight Premier League meetings against Spurs (W6, D2).

Kick-off:

Sunday, 26-02-2023, 01:30 pm (GMT), 07:00 pm (IST)

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competition): W-L-L-W-W

Chelsea form (all competition): L-L-D-D-D

Player to watch

Tottenham Hotspur

Dejan Kulusevski

Kulusevski is a versatile, left-footed attacking midfielder who can play wide on the right or centrally, and provides both a creative and goalscoring threat. He has been in scintillating form for Spurs since his move from Juventus and has 2 goals and 5 assists in Premier League this campaign.

Chelsea

Joao Felix

The only goal scorer for Chelsea in the month of February, he has been the only player to show some decent form ahead of goal for The Blues. He offers a different kind of threat. Joao Felix strongly favours his right foot and when playing off the left he dribbles inside like an inverted winger, although he can go both ways. This suits counter-attacking better than organised build-up but can provide some solutions for Chelsea.

Match facts

• Chelsea have just scored 6 goals in their last 11 Premier League games- no team has scored fewer since the start of November (the first game in this run).
• Tottenham have beaten Manchester City 1-0 and West Ham 2-0 in their last two home league games, having lost four of their previous at home Spurs have not won three consecutive Premier League home games without conceding since April 2019, in their first three matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
• Following their 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge in August, Tottenham are looking to avoid defeat in both Premier League meetings with Chelsea since 2015-16 (0-0 at home, 2-2 away).

Injury and team news

Rodrigo Bentancur suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury at the beginning of February and will be sidelined for the rest of this season. The return of Yves Bissouma is also unexpected which means a possible pairing of Skipp and Hojbjerg is expected in the midfield. Hugo Lloris has a knee injury and is expected to return by March which means that Forster will be starting at goal for Conte’s men.

Armando Broja is working with the medical department and is expected to miss the remainder of 2022-23. Following a concussion injury against Southampton, Azpilicueta has been discharged from hospital and is recovering well. The club's medical team are monitoring his condition, and adhering to the protocols and he won’t be making the trip to Tottenham Hotspur stadium probably. Christian Pulisic, N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy remain as the long-term absentees in west London.

Head-to-Head stats

Matches: 157

Tottenham Hotspur: 49

Draws: 38

Chelsea: 70

Predicted lineup

Tottenham Hotspur predicted lineup (3-4-2-1):

Forster; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Emerson, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Davies; Kulusevski, Son; Kane

Chelsea predicted lineup (4-2-3-1):

Arrizabalaga; James, Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Chilwell; Kovacic, Enzo Fernandez; Madueke, Felix, Mudryk; Havertz

Prediction

Tottenham Hotspur have had a topsy-turvy season till now but they have shown their worth when it comes to scoring goals and getting points. Chelsea have looked toothless on the other hand and find themselves in dire straits. A draw seems legitimate given the recent history between these two clubs.

Prediction:  Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Chelsea

Telecast Details

India- Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 2, Disney+Hotstar

USA- NBC Network Television.

UK- BT Sport.

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