The Sun

CHELSEA's stars were pelted by missiles from Tottenham's fans as they lined up to take corners.

Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez had to delay taking their set-pieces as pieces of card rained down on them.

Tottenham's stewards intervened to calm the fans down, while removing the objects from the pitch.

It is believed the card came from the tifo used before the game.

As Palmer lined up for a corner towards the end of the first half, it got far worse.

The game had to be momentarily halted as stewards remonstrated with fans.

Palmer, to his credit, laughed and smiled off the animosity shown his way.

But Blues fans had the last laugh - chanting “it’s happened again it’s happened again, Tottenham Hotspur it’s happened again.”

Tottenham raced into a two-goal lead - before a monumental collapse ended with a 4-2 home defeat.

Tottenham fans have previous when it comes to missiles hitting Chelsea players.

Back in 2022, Antonio Rudiger appeared to be struck by missiles in ugly scenes involving a section of away supporters at Stamford Bridge.

udiger appeared to be targeted by Spurs fans in a fiery London derby.

The Germany international could be seen turning towards away fans as an object was thrown in his direction.

A Spurs spokesperson said: "With regards the Rudiger incident, we will work with Chelsea to review the footage and take any appropriate action."

London rivals Tottenham and Chelsea's fans share a bitter relationships.

And if it's not the fans, it's their managers too.

CHELSEA ace Marc Cucurella endured a horror first 10 minutes in the London derby against Tottenham.

The Blues visit Spurs in a crucial Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And Cucurella, 26, was at fault for both of the North Londoners' goals as he slipped.

The full-back lost his balance after just five minutes when Dominic Solanke opened the scoring for Tottenham.

And the Spain international did the same just six minutes later, leading to Dejan Kulusevski's strike.

Cucurella was then seen storming towards the Chelsea bench to change his boots.

It seems like the ex-Brighton star no longer had faith in his gear as he kept falling on the wet surface.

The versatile defender appeared to have regained his footing as he helped Chelsea reduce the deficit with Jadon Sancho's strike on 17 minutes.

Fans were left stunned by that peculiar sight as they took to social media.

One fan tweeted: "Like Cinderella, Cucurella needs slippers that fit - Peter Drury."

Another commented: "How can he had not realised from warm up how wet it is."

A third wrote: "What a nightmare."

And that one stated: "Nightmare is right."

'We deserved to win'

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was clearly delighted with the win - and could even joke around about Cucurella's boot issue.

He told Sky Sports: "For the fans and for us, I said in the week that we were working to make the fans happy, and today they can be happy."

On Cucurella, he added: "He said to me after the game that he was trying to bring emotion to the game.

"No, being serious, to come this stadium against this team and be 2-0 down, but continue then with the same plan on and off the ball and then second half we changed things tactically. I think overall we deserved to win.

"It's more a question for Marc. They are mature enough to decide what boots they need for the game. The most important thing is that we were 2-0 but we continued the same way to create chances."

Better than Zola?

Jamie Carragher made a bold claim after the game, stating Palmer has already done more than the Italian magician did in his iconic years in Blue.

Carragher said: "He gets the penalties and he is involved in the Enzo Fernandez goal as well. People fear when he has the ball.

"He hasn't been playing for the best team. When you look at Chelsea over the years, you look at flair players you look at Gianfranco Zola and Eden Hazard. He has probably done more than Zola already in his 18 months at the club.

"He is going to go down as one of the biggest players for Chelsea if he keeps doing what he is doing. He is a very special player, and that's not just in the Premier League it is in Europe and world football as well."

'We needed to win and we did'

Cole Palmer had the coollest head in north London when he stepped up to score an outrageous Panenka penalty and seal the win.

Palmer scored his second of the game to take his tally for the season to nine for the season - plus six assists.

Speaking after the game, he told Sky Sports: "We knew it was going to be tough so to win is good.

"When I stepped back and looked at the clock I thought it's a bit frantic, the game is all over the place and I thought the keeper was ready to dive so I just chipped it.

"I'm just trying to score and thankfully it went in."

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IT could be a long afternoon for Tottenham against Chelsea on Sunday.

We all saw how some Spurs fans booed Ange Postecoglou at the end of the Bournemouth game on Thursday, which shows what they are thinking.

But I just don’t know what his best team is or what we will get from them.

Yes, Postecoglou has had a few injuries, especially at the back. He’s lost the two centre-halves Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, as well as goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Despite this they had that really great performance against Manchester City but either side of that they had Crystal Palace, Ipswich and Bournemouth . . . really poor performances.

They’ve now had the injury to Ben Davies as well.

Spurs are not a settled team. Even when they’re all fit you are not sure who is going to play.

It leaves them very short at the back and if they end up putting Archie Gray alongside Radu Dragusin, I wouldn’t fancy that much especially because the two full-backs love to attack and those two would be exposed.

Archie is a fantastic young talent but playing centre-half against a Chelsea side in great form is a brave one.

If I was Ange I would look to play a much more defensive-looking team.

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I wouldn’t be sitting here thinking, "Right, let’s go and attack them". It’s not a day for him to be going gung-ho.

He will have to make sure he puts in a really solid midfield and maybe forgoes his attacking instincts to get defensive stability in front of that pair at the back.

That could mean playing five across the midfield and Dominic Solanke on his own up top. Ange cannot afford to be open.

The full-backs will have to be told they can’t just bomb forward willy-nilly but have to keep a solid base.

You have to stay in the game and be patient. Maybe just take the opportunities when they come — if they get them.

I know how much it matters to fans of both teams because this is a huge rivalry now. But if Tottenham fans put pressure on the players, that could play right into Chelsea’s hands.

The Blues will have seen what happened on Thursday night and will try to dominate the early exchanges.

Chelsea are definitely going there as favourites. They are full of confidence with a spring in their step. Yet at the start of the season they looked a bit of a mishmash and I really couldn’t see them doing anything.

It can be a big problem when you have too many players who all think they should be playing. That can lead to a very difficult dressing room.

But they seem to have sorted that out and things are going great. The manager is doing a good job and now people are suddenly saying, "Hang on, it’s not impossible".

When you see the team they put out to score five at Southampton in midweek, that shows everybody is buying into what they’re trying to do.

Cole Palmer is the main man. He would be the X-factor for any team. But we’re seeing it with Enzo Fernandez as well now. He’s a World Cup winner and starting to show the form they bought him for.

It’s the same with Moises Caicedo. Now he’s really showing what he is capable of and they are looking strong in midfield.

But I also look at Nicolas Jackson. I have to be honest, when they bought him I thought, "He is just not good enough".

He was going to Bournemouth for £20million but that didn’t happen because he had an injury and I really thought the Cherries had saved themselves £20m.

Now Jackson is looking a very useful player. Full credit to the manager because he has given him a bit of self belief and he’s delivering the goods.

If Chelsea can continue this run, they will put themselves bang in the picture.

D-DAY FOR GARY AND JULEN

IT will be a nervous night for both bosses at the London Stadium on Monday.

For me, it’s a bit early to be thinking about pulling the trigger but West Ham and Wolves are sides that are struggling.

I know Gary O’Neil well and feel he’s done a great job, even though it’s been difficult with the injuries and the players he lost.

He did a fantastic job at Bournemouth but now he needs a result or two at Wolves.

I’ve watched a lot of their games and I feel they have been really unlucky in many of them, but the pressure is growing. The fans seemed to turn on him for the first time at Everton last week. It can get difficult when that happens — and the players sense it.

What I do know is that Gary has so much to offer. He’s very good, bright as a button.

I saw a lot of what he did at Bournemouth — that was fantastic — and then last year at Wanderers, but he definitely needs some luck to turn it around now.

It feels a bit similar for Julen Lopetegui at the Hammers. A lot of it comes down to recruitment. I thought their signings looked good in the summer but German striker Niclas Fullkrug has barely played because he has been injured since he arrived — although he did score that late goal at Leicester.

I reckon both managers would take a draw, keep their jobs and get a bit of time, because if anyone does lose the game they’re going to be under severe pressure.

If Wolves can keep the crowd quiet and the fans start to get edgy and turn a bit, then it could be a tough night for the hosts.

GUNNERS ARE SET TO WIN

THERE have been a few people rushing to criticise Arsenal because they are scoring so many goals from set-pieces.

Dimitar Berbatov said they were just a modern version of Stoke after the Manchester United game.

What it comes down to is that they have people who want to attack the ball with a bit of movement.

Their centre-halves, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, have got a bit of size but REALLY want to score.

Rather than moaning about them, you have to put your best markers on their best attacking weapons.

I see too many set-plays where forwards are put up against defenders — but forwards can’t defend and they get done. You have to make sure your centre-halves are on their ones.

You want a good header of the ball at the near post, someone at the back post and sometimes you can have a spare man and just tell him to go wherever the ball goes

At West Ham I had Julian Dicks, a fantastic header of the ball. I would leave him free to start in the middle, attack the ball and nod it away.

If I had to play against this Arsenal side I’d love to have Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin, who played for me at Portsmouth, as my two centre-backs.

Sol was a powerhouse and if he was marking you, you were never going to get ahead of him to that ball. Sylvain was also a big, strong athlete.

But with Arsenal you’ve got to be aware of everything because they can hurt you from all over the place.

Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are fantastic players. Odegaard pulls all the strings while Bukayo is so dangerous. They are why I think Arsenal will battle Liverpool all the way.

They’re definitely not just a good set-piece team. They are a really good team who are great at set-pieces.

And when that ball comes in, they’ve got people who want to score. Fulham will have to be at their very best when the Gunners visit.

REWIND the clock just over a year and Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs were being applauded off the pitch by supporters, despite losing 4-1 at home to Chelsea.

This Sunday, Tottenham host the Blues again and if it goes badly for the North Londoners, you fear for the Aussie boss and the reception he might get from the terraces.

It has been a marked turnaround in 13 months.

From fans serenading Postecoglou with their twist on Robbie Williams’ classic ‘Angels’ of “I’m loving Big Ange instead”.

To many of them falling out of love with the 59-year-old due to the wild inconsistency of his approach and some even wanting him gone.

The fact that Spurs pulled off one of their greatest Premier League results ever with the 4-0 win at Manchester City just 13 days ago but now we are in this situation is remarkable.

But in a way that landmark victory at the Etihad only heightened the frustration felt by fans because it showed just what this team is capable of… yet are regularly failing to reproduce against so-called smaller teams like Crystal Palace, Ipswich and last night, Bournemouth.

Andoni Iraola’s Cherries completely outclassed Spurs and were it not for some horrendously wasteful finishing from their forwards, it would have been 3-0 or 4-0 rather than 1-0.

So what has sparked this reversal in fortunes for Postecoglou’s Spurs?

There is an argument to say it all began with that Chelsea game in November last year.

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Spurs had made an electric start to his tenure, going unbeaten in their first ten league games and flying high at the top of the league.

Things were going so well that Postecoglou had won a hat-trick of manager-of-the-month awards for the first three months of the campaign.

But then disaster struck against the Blues.

Spurs went down to nine men due after Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were sent off, but more significantly they lost James Maddison and Micky van de Ven to long-term injuries.

Amazingly, Postecoglou persevered with a high line and an attacking approach which led to Son Heung-min coming very close to a 90th-minute leveller for 2-2.

He missed, and after that Nicolas Jackson went on to complete a hat-trick.

The scenes afterwards were unforgettable though as fans belted out songs of praise for their brave team and their fearless manager for continuing to take the fight to the opposition despite their two-man disadvantage.

But since then, that passion has dwindled due to how enormously patchy Postecoglou’s side have been.

Their league record since Chelsea has read 17 wins, six draws and 18 defeats.

The collapse towards the end of last season cost them a Champions League spot.

While this term the dismal nature of displays at Selhurst Park, the second half at Brighton and the Vitality on Thursday night has irked supporters no end.

At Bournemouth, Postecoglou even exchanged words with angry supporters seemingly calling him names and shouting expletives from the stands at full-time.

Just over 12 hours on at Friday morning’s press conference back in Enfield, Postecoglou said he had no issue with the fans’ venting their fury.

That what matters is that they are behind the team - not him.

He said: “They're not behind me, they're behind the club. I've got no interest in who's behind me.

“You got to figure the ones who travel to Bournemouth are pretty hardcore supporters.

“They weren't happy with what they saw, they felt like they needed to give me some feedback, I took the feedback on board and we move on.”

Injuries have been killing Postecoglou’s side over the last year.

Maddison and Van de Ven getting crocked in the 4-1 against Chelsea last term derailed their progress completely.

While right now he is without his first-choice centre-back pairing of Romero and Van de Ven, his No1 goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and is light up top with Richarlison and Wilson Odobert out injured.

Ben Davies also injured his hamstring against Bournemouth.

Barring the £65million purchase of Dominic Solanke - the most a Premier League club spent on a player this summer - Spurs opted for youth in the last window.

The decisions we made around signing young players are the right decisions for where we are at right now and will bear fruit

Ange Postecoglou

Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, both 18, 19-year-old Odobert and Yang Min-Hyeok, also 18 and who will join next month, were all brought in.

While experienced pros like Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg and Giovani Lo Celso were let go.

The injury to Odobert in particular has hit hard because Spurs looked in desperate need for more strength in the attacking areas.

But the teenage kicks approach has left some fans thinking the club were too focused on building for the future, rather than the here and now.

Yet Postecoglou defended the transfer policy today, commenting: “It is still the right decision and I own them [transfers] because I believe they are the right decisions for this club.

“I have said numerous times, I make these decisions with the kind of background that I’m going to be here for a while to see this through.

“To be honest, if I was worried about my own existence I would have fought tooth and nail to block Harry Kane leaving but it wasn’t the right decision for the club because he was in the last year of his contract. That is not what drives me.

“The decisions we made around signing young players are the right decisions for this club for where we are at right now and they will bear fruit.”

That may be the case further down the line, but whether Postecoglou will still be at the club in time to see it seems in jeopardy right now.

His Spurs are capable of beating the best, as they have proven in the past, so seeing off Enzo Maresca’s in-form Chelsea is doable.

Lose, though, and the ex-Celtic boss could have a crisis on his hands - with a hostile trip Rangers in Glasgow coming just days after.

ANGE POSTECOGLOU admitted Tottenham fans were right to rage at him after a dismal display in Bournemouth.

The Spurs boss was dragged into a flashpoint with furious supporters at full-time after Dean Huijsen cashed in on woeful defending to head home a 17th-minute corner.

Postecoglou’s side have just one win — the 4-0 thrashing at Manchester City — in six games over the past month.

The under-fire Aussie said: “They’re disappointed and rightly so and they gave me some direct feedback, which is taken on board.

“I didn’t like what was being said because I’m a human being but you’ve got to cop it.

“I’ve been around long enough to know when things don’t go well you’ve got to understand the frustration and disappointment.

“And they’re rightly disappointed because we let a game of football get away from us. But that’s okay. I’m okay with all that.

“All I can say is I’m really disappointed (with the performance) and I’m determined to get it right and will keep fighting until we do.”

Postecoglou, 59, appeared to irk booing away fans by not initially going over to them after the final whistle.

He then appeared to single one out and waved them towards him.

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The Spurs boss marched towards the away end while shaking his head before gesturing for calm when stewards intervened.

Postecoglou then engaged another angry supporter before clapping and walking away.

Asked about what that “direct feedback” involved, the ex-Celtic chief declined to divulge, replying: “Probably not for here.”

It was a worrying warm-up for Sunday’s clash with rivals Chelsea, who are eight points clear of tenth-place Spurs.

To make matters worse, Spurs lost Ben Davies to a hamstring injury meaning they are currently without three centre-backs.

Huijsen, 19, bagged his goal for the Cherries, who ran riot and should have scored more than.

'I didn’t like what was being said because I’m a human being'

Ange Postecoglou

Cherries chief Andoni Iraola added: “It’s been a very good win.

“Our defensive performance was most pleasing. We did not give them many chances at all.

“(Dean Huijsen) was very, very good defensively, he got the goal.

"Obviously we can use his height at set plays. He is good news for us.”

Huijsen was only playing because of a quad injury picked up by Marco Senesi.

Iraola added: “It’s quite significant. Probably, he will be out for some time.”

TOTTENHAM’S set-piece pain might be easier to take were their North London arch-rivals not so bloody good at them.

While Arsenal and their dead-ball expert Nicolas Jover cornered another opponent on Wednesday night, Spurs suffered more set-piece pain last night on the rainy South Coast.

Dean Huijsen became Bournemouth’s youngest ever Premier League scorer as he rose highest to head home a first-half corner.

It was actually only Spurs’ fourth goal shipped from a dead-ball delivery, excluding penalties, this term.

But when you couple it with their woes from those particular situations last time - and how boss Ange Postecoglou seemed to dismiss their importance - along with Arsenal’s ridiculous success from them, it made for an exasperating evening for their fans.

Spurs’ supporters were already frustrated by the wildly inconsistent form of their team under Postecoglou.

Losing to winless Ipswich one week but blitzing Manchester City 4-0 on their own patch the next, it has been one of the most topsy-turvy campaigns in memory.

Fans have long since given up taking anything for granted because you simply have no idea which Spurs team will show up each match.

Literally in the team for this game was Dominic Solanke, the man Spurs paid a whopping £65million to sign in the summer.

The England striker had missed out on Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to Fulham due to illness, reporting for duty at the stadium only to be sent home a few hours before kick-off.

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Skipper Son Heung-min seemed a bit off-colour in his performance that day and was relegated to the bench here, though “rotation” was Postecoglou’s official reasoning.

Archie Gray, 18, was afforded a first Premier League for Spurs but fired the ball out of play inside the first 20 seconds, summing up what would be a careless display at times from Postecoglou’s side.

Spurs had the best of it in the early stages with Kepa Arrizabalaga saving smartly from Dejan Kulusevski, who was back playing wide right here.

Then Solanke managed to get in behind Huijsen but lifted his shot high above the goal.

From there, Bournemouth began to exert their authority on the rest of the half and were it not for a few top Fraser Forster stops, it could have been much worse for the visitors.

The first of the saves from the 36-year-old came a minute before the opener when the ball somewhere snuck past Radu Dragusin through to Evanlison just a few yards out.

But the Brazilian’s effort was denied by Forster’s 6ft7ins frame and went out for a corner.

It was from that resulting set-piece that the Cherries took the lead via the simplest of routines.

Marcus Tavernier fired his delivery high to the far post, evading Destiny Udogie’s weak effort to head it away and allowing Spain Under-21 international Huijsen to head home.

Aged just 19 years and 235 days, it made him Bournemouth’s youngest player to net in the Premier League.

Spurs have not exactly ripped it up from attacking set pieces either, emphasised by Solanke heading a corner well wide minutes later.

An unimpressed Postecoglou seemed to be getting annoyed with his team too, at one point bawling ‘Radu!’ in Dragusin’s direction over the Romanian not playing the ball forward.

Little seemed to be working for the Aussie’s side, with Kulusevski ineffective down the right and Brennan Johnson even more so after being switched over to the left.

Bournemouth had the ball in the net again just after the half hour when Tavernier thumped home Evanilson’s pass but the ex-Middlesbrough man was clearly offside.

Forster’s next vital intervention came shortly before the interval as he brilliantly scooped away Tavernier’s downward header from close range.

The veteran stopper is having to be relied upon at the moment with No1 Guglielmo Vicario out for months with a fractured ankle.

But Forster, who has six England caps, has stepped into the breach impressively, denying Justin Kluivert on 53 minutes when the Dutchman should have squared the ball.

Son was finally called for before the hour and thought he had levelled soon after but was well offside, before James Maddison curled agonisingly wide.

The hosts had chance after chance, especially when Ben Davies hobbled off injured, and had yet another goal ruled out for offside to deny Evanilson after Forster’s wayward pass.

It was hard to believe Bournemouth’s attack could be so wasteful.

But then again, Spurs’ was so toothless, it did not matter as Huijsen’s set-piece moment proved enough.

PREMIER LEAGUE games are flowing thick and fast at the minute.

Hot on the heels of a full round of midweek fixtures comes Score Predictor Matchweek 14 and another chance for you to win £250 without having to cough up a single penny from your own pocket.

Simply submit your predictions for the five selected games and earn points for the accuracy of your forecast as the action unfolds.

If you amass the most points then you'll claim the cash prize!

We've rustled up some key stats and facts for each relevant fixture this Matchweek to help inform your decisions, along with our own predictions.

Crystal Palace v Manchester City

Pep Guardiola's side stopped the rot with a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in midweek, restoring normal order to some degree.

The Eagles also nabbed a much-needed three points last time out in the form of a 1-0 win over Ipswich.

The South Londoners have been something of a bogey team for Man City in recent years having taken points off the eight-time Premier League champions in three of the last six meetings.

However, with just 12 points to show for their efforts so far, Oliver Glasner's men aren't in the best position to upset Erling Haaland and company, even accounting for recent tribulations at the Etihad.

Our Prediction: 2-1 to Man City

Manchester United v Nottingham Forest

Some fans of the Red Devils were dealt a reality check on Wednesday night when they watched their side lose 2-0 to Arsenal, reminding them of the work Ruben Amorim still has to do to reinstate the club as a top-bracket side in the Premier League.

But the Portuguese tactician has overseen two wins from two at Old Trafford so far, albeit against relatively favourable opposition - the hosts played some attractive football against Everton last weekend.

As for Forest, their flying start has been checked by three defeats in their last four games, to Newcastle, Arsenal and Man City.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side are still flying high in sixth at the time of writing but they're gradually being pulled back towards the mid-table shuffle.

Forest's underlying defensive numbers remain pretty good in the context of the whole season while Man United have struggled for goals, a combination which suggests a low-scoring affair could be on the cards.

However, Erik ten Hag's departure has led to increased returns in attack with Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo all enjoying an upturn.

A difficult one to predict so we're inclined to follow the crowd - 34% of users are predicting 2-1 home win at this stage.

Our Prediction: 2-1 to Man United

Fulham v Arsenal

The Cottagers are in action against Brighton this evening and so you may want to wait for that result before submitting your prediction for Sunday's fixture.

At this stage, it's difficult to look past a re-energised Arsenal outfit that extended their winning streak to four with that 2-0 win over Man United in midweek.

The Gunners are prolific from set-pieces but Martin Odegaard's return from injury has given them an added edge from open play too - hence their impressive return of 15 goals from their last four outings.

Marco Silva's side are well organised and rarely get comprehensively outplayed (barring a freak loss to Wolves last month) and they more than held their own at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Sunday.

Fulham beat Mikel Arteta's troops in the corresponding fixture last December but that was their first win over Arsenal since 2012.

Our Prediction: 2-0 to Arsenal

Tottenham v Chelsea

The standout match-up of Matchweek 14 and one that usually features plenty of needle.

Following Liverpool's draw at St James' Park, the Blues are top of the form table having taken 14 points from their last six games with a goal difference of plus nine.

Cole Palmer remains the centrepiece but Chelsea are far from the one-man team they were for long stretches last season - Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, Christopher Nkunku and Enzo Fernandez are all among the goal involvements at present.

As for Spurs, they're a nightmare for Score Predictor users this season due to their inconsistency - their record reads six wins, two draws and five losses in the league having knocked off some big teams and slipped up against underdogs.

Ange Postecoglou's side have home advantage on Sunday but it's worth noting that Chelsea have earned more points on the road this season than Spurs have won at home...

Our Prediction: 3-2 to Chelsea

West Ham v Wolves

Monday night's game at the London Stadium feels like the last-chance saloon for both Julen Lopetegui and Gary O'Neil, if they even get that far.

The Hammers folded against Arsenal then somehow contrived to lose 3-1 away to Leicester despite letting fly with 31 shots to the Foxes' eight.

Wolves lost 4-2 to Bournemouth in a crazy game that featured Justin Kluivert scoring a hat-trick of penalties before a truly dismal 4-0 defeat to Everton - the Toffees hadn't scored a goal since October before Wednesday night's game.

Matheus Cunha and friends pack a punch in attack but Wolves are simply conceding far too many goals, 36 to be precise, six more than the next-worst defence, 20th-placed Southampton.

Given how things have gone for both clubs this season, it wouldn't be a surprise if Monday night ended with a draw that angered both sets of fans - and perhaps a rare double sacking.

Our Prediction: 2-2 draw

CHELSEA fans were left furious after finding out Anthony Taylor will referee their derby against Tottenham, just two years after officiating a highly controversial clash.

The Blues and Spurs will lock horns in the Premier League on Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And Taylor, 46, will be in charge after overseeing a dramatic 2-2 draw in August 2022 at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea were left incensed at full-time as they claimed both of the North Londoners' goals should have been disallowed.

Tottenham ace Rodrigo Bentancur appeared to have fouled Kai Havertz in the build-up to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's goal.

And Cristian Romero then appeared to pull Marc Cucurella by the hair as they contested a corner-kick moments before Harry Kane scored as a result of that set-piece.

The West Londoners' manager at the time Thomas Tuchel even suggested Taylor should NEVER officiate another Chelsea game.

Nevertheless, the Mancunian ref will referee the London clash once more despite a negative reaction from a section of Blues fans.

One fan tweeted: "I sound like a broken record but how is he still allowed to referee our games? Especially what happened couple years ago."

Another commented: "Why does he get all of our big games? It’s every season."

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A third wrote: "It was fun while it lasted..."

This fan gushed: "FFS!"

And that one said: "Drama loading."

Taylor is among the Premier League's most experienced and respected refs having been officiating in the Premier League since 2010.