Chelsea v Tottenham predictions: Blues can maintain derby dominance
Conte's unbeaten run set to end
Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday.
Where to watch
Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 4.30pm Sunday
Best bet
Chelsea
1pt 7-10 general
Team news
Chelsea
Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Trevor Chalobah are still absent through injury and Edouard Mendy is at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Tottenham
Antonio Conte says Spurs will assess two unnamed players before kick-off but Eric Dier is back in contention. Heung-Min Son and Cristian Romero remain sidelined.
Match preview
Chelsea's Premier League title challenge has fizzled out over the last few weeks and they have work still to do in the race for a top-four finish.
Champions League qualification no longer looks a certainty for the Blues and they need to be alive to the threat posed by Sunday's opponents Tottenham, who are eight points behind them but with four games in hand.
Chelsea have grown accustomed to defeating Spurs in the Premier League era and it is hard to reconcile their dominance of the recent EFL semi-final clashes, winning 3-0 on aggregate, with the Premier League table which suggests a much closer gap between the sides.
Spurs were totally outclassed in the first leg of this month's semi-final at Stamford Bridge, losing the match 2-0 and the shot count 19 to five, and would need to find significant improvement if they are to turn the tables.
They could be stronger at the back with centre-back Eric Dier set to feature for the first time since New Year's Day, but their offensive options are reduced by the ongoing absence of Heung-Min Son, who will not be involved until after the international break.
With Son out of the equation the onus is firmly on Harry Kane, who has stepped up his performance levels by scoring in four of his last five Premier League appearances.
Chelsea will be mindful of limiting the service to Kane but their main focus will be getting on the front foot and expose a suspect Tottenham defence.
Thomas Tuchel's side were strangely subdued in their 1-1 draw at Brighton on Tuesday and have now gone four league games without a win for the first time since the German was appointed in January last year.
Tuchel cited fatigue as a contributing factor behind the disappointing performance at the Amex, although he has the benefit of a massive squad and has quality options galore with the likes of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Mateo Kovacic hoping for recalls to the starting line-up.
A mental reset is probably more necessary than a physical break, and a London derby against Tottenham looks tailor-made to get Chelsea's juices flowing.
Chelsea are usually highly motivated when facing Spurs and often get off to a flying starts - taking the lead inside 25 minutes of six of the last eight meetings.
Tottenham are progressing under Conte and are likely to have learned from each of their January cup defeats, but they still look a fair way from being able to challenge the very top teams and may suffer a reality check this weekend.
Key stat
Chelsea have won their last four matches against Tottenham.
Inside info
Chelsea
Penalty taker Jorginho
Free-kick wizard Marcos Alonso
Set-piece aerial threat Antonio Rudiger
Card magnet Marcos Alonso
Tottenham
Penalty taker Harry Kane
Free-kick wizardEric Dier
Set-piece aerial threatDavinson Sanchez
Card magnetOliver Skipp
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Published on 22 January 2022inPremier League
Last updated 16:38, 22 January 2022
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