Mercifully, it feels like forever since Tottenham Hotspur has taken the pitch, though the past two and a half weeks have seen the drama continue on as managerial rumors only get louder. With the calendar now turned to April, the decision point is rapidly approaching, although everything is on pause until at least the middle of the month when the Europa League resumes.
Until then is a pair of Premier League fixtures: Thursday’s trip to Chelsea and a visit from cellar dwellers, Southampton, over the weekend. There may not be a ton to play for in the table anymore, but trips to Stamford Bridge are never just a formality. Spurs will need to show some fight to head home happy, though it is dangerous to use that word in this derby.
Chelsea (6th, 49pts) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (t-14th, 34pts)
Date: Thursday, April 3
Time: 3:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK
Location: Stamford Bridge, London
TV: Peacock (US), Sky Sports Main Event (UK)
Chelsea are right in the mix for a top-four finish, with Manchester City, Newcastle, and Brighton all bunched up beneath the top three as well. Just two wins in the past five contests has not helped the cause, though, even if the losses came against respectable sides in Brighton, Villa, and Arsenal. The Blues are also favorites to win the Conference League and have a much easier path than Spurs’ Europa bracket.
December’s reverse fixture was one of the season’s most chaotic. Tottenham jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead thanks to Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski, but a second-half comeback saw Chelsea come all the way back and go ahead 4-2. Heung-Min Son’s stoppage-time effort made little difference, and the West Londoners made it three straight wins in this derby.
Building blocks
Despite his job very much hanging in the balance, Ange Postecoglou has been sticking to his philosophies, which apparently includes plenty of rotation now that he has some more options available. It feels like Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are still good candidates to be subbed off at some point before 90 minutes, and Dejan Kulusevski remains doubtful.
Still, that leaves plenty of contenders across the midfield and attack. The final contest before the international break saw Yves Bissouma start in midfield, which clearly is not working out. However, Archie Gray put in a good shift next to him, and seeing Gray pair centrally with Lucas Bergvall would be fun. Add in Wilson Odobert up front, and maybe some minutes for Mathys Tel, and at least the youth could provide a little hope for the future.
Productivity
Chelsea’s success this year has come from the attacking end, which will pose a good test for the mostly healthy Tottenham backline. The other end of the pitch is more interesting to me, though, with the home side’s defense only grading out near the middle of the league this season. Still, the Blues have conceded just one goal over the past three domestic fixtures (and two in the past five overall), once again testing the Spurs attack.
Everything about the rest of the year has to be about the Europa League, and quarterfinal combatant Eintracht Frankfurt has been pretty strong defensively itself. Therefore, building some confidence in the league is key, and some of that is going to be from Postecoglou finding the right components. Odobert has looked promising in limited action, but Tottenham will need Son and Solanke to contribute as well, since their spots seem to be nearly guaranteed. If a heated derby cannot get the best out of these key attackers, it is hard to feel great about anything going forward.