Closed Spurs v Chelsea

[Henrique 9,133]

To be honest I dont expect us to win or even draw the game tomorrow. Chelsea failed to produce good football this season (Bayern game aside), and I also can expect Mourinho with his stupid line-up: Lampard, Ramires, Hazard, Schurlle, Oscar; Etoo.

Etoo will fail to score a goal (again), in the 2nd half he will bring Willian, Torres and Mikel, and Etoo will end the game playing as an useless winger.

Tottenhan 2 x 0 Chelsea.

My dream game is:

Chelsea to win: 4-0, and goals and renegades scoring: Luiz, Mata, Torres and Mikel (again!!!).

[bababoom 4,478]

Kyle Walker is actually pretty good defensively. It's going forward that he looks like a headless chicken.

Isn't it the other way? he's very poor defensively but decent when going forward, well he was, now he's woeful at both.

To think i used to rate him, two years ago i even said he was one of the best RBs in the PL..

[Rapkun 668]

I hope Mou doesnt come up with some defensive strategy like he did in OT, we're supposed to be so much better than them in terms of attack and possibly everywhere else too.

[Stats 6,980]

He lost his place to Willian. Mata always had a place in the bench.

Against Fulham, our last PL game, Mata was not in the squad at all, that is why it says KDB loses his place to Mata. Willian was in the squad in our last PL game.

Isn't it the other way? he's very poor defensively but decent when going forward, well he was, now he's woeful at both.

To think i used to rate him, two years ago i even said he was one of the best RBs in the PL..

He is not as bad as he is made out to be tbh. He sometimes is exposed defensively because of his attacking instincts but I rate him very highly. He is strong, fast and got what you want in a fullback. But often up in one and one situations with attackers he is very decent.

[Tomo 21,681]

Pretty sure that was at Wembley.

I was referring to two games, the Wembley game, and the game at WHL when we drew 1-1 and had the much better of the match.

[DJames 729]

finally a 9.45pm kick-off

I'm disliking this kick-off time!! That's 7:40am! On a Saturday *Ain't nobody got time for that!* Gosh I hope I wake up

[NiclasCFC 2,582]

He lost his place to Willian. Mata always had a place in the bench.

Last league game (Fulham home) De bruyne and Willian was on the bench while Mata wasn't in the squad so it hasn't always been like that.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

Isn't it the other way? he's very poor defensively but decent when going forward, well he was, now he's woeful at both.

To think i used to rate him, two years ago i even said he was one of the best RBs in the PL..

Never fall for media hype again, never

[unitedkingpin 21]

Eriksen will rip em apart....

[haranr 485]

In JOSE I TRUST!!

[Billy. 2,739]

2-0 Spurs just cannot see us winning the way we are playing

[kellzfresh 7,226]

2-0 Spurs just cannot see us winning the way we are playing

Other teams parked the bus so far. But there will be more space this time. No triple man marking of hazard and we'll win, trust your team

[haranr 485]

Low expectations are good.

[NishC300 1,865]

Great chance for Hazard to get his 1st PL goal/assist

via http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/pitchside-europe/crucial-hazard-walker-battle-could-decide-london-derby-133723320.html

Crucial Hazard-Walker battle could decide derby By Eurosport | Pitchside Europe – 18 hours ago

Eden Hazard has had a hit-and-miss time at Chelsea. At times his form has been excellent, with the Belgian showing flashes of real quality, but he has also suffered prolonged periods of mediocrity.

Against Fulham last weekend he was not very effective, squandering a couple of glorious chances to open his Premier League account for the season. That being said, as long as he is on the pitch, he can pose a real threat to any side. Hazard has created more chances than any other Chelsea player this season, although he is yet to record a goal or assist in the league.

Chelsea's top chance creators this season

Hazard is also Chelsea's top dribbler this season, with 2.8 dribbles per game. It is clear that whichever full-back he'll be up against (likely Kyle Walker) he will cause them problems and look to attack them both on the inside and the outside. This will have ramifications for Spurs' defensive midfielders too, as when he drifts infield the midfielders might have to take over from the full-back and look to marshal Hazard.

The above graphic from the 1-0 loss at Everton highlights how his movement can be problematic for opposition players. While he is stationed from the left he spends a lot of time coming inside, as well as switching flank. Furthermore, his desire to continuously beat his man means that he consistently commits the opposition and this may effect Walker's ability to bomb-on forward.

Walker is a very good full-back in the sense that he is quick and aggressive getting forward, but he can at times leave gaps in behind. While Walker has improved defensively, he is still not the most assured and last season he struggled in this fixture against Juan Mata.

Furthermore, looking at Walker's heat map (above), it's clear he really works his right-flank, but with Mourinho looking for Chelsea to counter very quickly with transitions, perhaps Walker could be a potential weak point.

This is because Walker plays an big role in Spurs' attacking build up. The right-back looks to play as almost as a right-midfielder in attacking moves, thus allowing Tottenham's right-winger to cut inside and be an extra central playmaker.

Furthermore, looking at Walker's passes against Norwich, it is clear that he makes a majority of his passes in the opposition half. Perhaps the problem with this, against a team like Chelsea, is that it means there is space to exploit in behind the right-back, meaning Hazard, a player very comfortable running with the ball and creating, could exploit the space.

Hazard against Walker will be one of the most interesting duels in the Spurs v Chelsea game. This is because both players share the same desire, in the sense that they want to attack at every given opportunity.

Furthermore, because of Mourinho's counter-attacking style and his desire to exploit teams in the transition phases, this means that Walker, Spurs' most prolific passer (240 accurate passes this season), has two options.

These are: (a) Walker minimises his natural forward runs, which means Spurs will lack width on the right-hand side; or ( b ) Walker continues to offer width down the right-hand side, but he will have to be at the top of his game, or the space left behind him could be exploited by the pacey, dynamic

[NishC300 1,865]

Make sure you read the official talkchelsea match preview!

HERE

[bushman 2,043]

Make sure you read the official talkchelsea match preview!

HERE

We read your stats, analyses, by the way a great job, somehow, some of us are skeptical though.

Of course, we should believe anything can happen & Chelsea just might hammer the Spurs, I hope.

To me, this game is the biggest challenge for the club so far.

Whoever wins here, it can bring much needed psychological boost to the players.

[Jase 43,479]

Other teams parked the bus so far. But there will be more space this time. No triple man marking of hazard and we'll win, trust your team

Getting more time and space doesn't mean one will immediately perform better. Even against teams that have parked the bus, hardly anyone has stood out against such oppositions. To use excuses such as 'other teams parked the bus. more space this time' is somewhat nonsensical. If a player with quality, and we got so many of them in our ranks, can't even perform to his capabilities against lesser players or oppositions, then there is no reason to suggest they will do the opposite against better players or oppositions immediately like turning on and off a tap water. Right now, it's more of a case of hoping they will turn up and perform rather than expecting them to do so.

[Jase 43,479]

Kyle Walker is actually pretty good defensively. It's going forward that he looks like a headless chicken.

Kinda disagree with that. Think it's more of the reverse. Defensively, he is still a suspect and lacking that awareness and of his positioning. The only thing that is saving him is his blistering pace.