Mauricio Pochettino is set to make his return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Chelsea look to compete in what is a must-win game after the Argentinian saw his side drop points to Arsenal and Brentford.
Tottenham remain the only unbeaten team in the Premier League with Ange Postecoglou’s side currently sat just a point behind Manchester City in the league table.
It is set to be a pivotal game for Chelsea’s prospects this season, who currently sit 13th in the league table. Here are three compelling and decisive battles on the pitch that we think you should keep a close eye out for...
Moises Caicedo vs Pape Sarr
It’ll certainly be a very interesting battle for the £115m Ecuadorian midfielder who will be coming up against Pape Sarr who has had an excellent season so far. Sarr has undoubtedly been one of Tottenham’s best players this season with his physical ability in winning ground/aerial duels, as well as offensively where he hasn’t been afraid to take long-range pops at goal. The Senegalese will fancy his chances up against Moises Caicedo who is clearly still adapting to a young and ever-changing Chelsea side.
Midfield battle in matches like these are huge. Away from home, knowing the Tottenham players and fans will be up for it. It’ll be vital for Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez to control and take the sting out of the game.
It’ll be an even bigger test for Caicedo knowing he’ll have James Maddison drifting into pockets of space just behind him so he’s certainly going to have be on his A-game. Not only on-the-ball but off-the-ball where he’s going to face quite the test up against Sarr who has shown every attribute to his game this season.
Raheem Sterling vs Pedro Porro
Question marks from Chelsea fans as to whether Raheem Sterling should start, will certainly arise as we get closer to kick-off. However, one-thing the Englishman has is experience in big matches. Pochettino will surely look to start him despite his recent form drop-off where he struggled to make an impact against Brentford and was criticised for his performance against Blackburn too despite scoring.
I see this as a very interesting 1v1 battle considering Postecoglou’s principle of having his full-backs invert and almost act as no.10’s in possession. Whether they’ll take the risk and advance that high up the pitch, up against Chelsea obviously remains to be seen but considering the space Pedro Porro will be leaving in behind, pace is needed to exploit it. Sterling has that in abundance but what he has shown to lack over the years at times is composure and decision-making, especially in the final third. Can he really afford to have another sub-par performance in such a hugely important fixture?
Embed from Getty Images1v1 up against Porro, no doubt you’d expect Sterling to win the battle considering the burst of pace, dribbling and agility he can show. He’s already completed more take-ons than he did all of last season, which is certainly a positive but Chelsea fans won’t care about that, should he fail to perform up against Porro who isn’t necessarily known for his defensive abilities.
Cole Palmer vs Destiny Udogie
Arguably the most exciting battle of the lot, considering how good both players have been this season. Cole Palmer has come into a Chelsea side and fitted in instantly. His technical quality, vision and composure has been something Chelsea fans have missed for some years. Two goals and one assist so far in the Premier League this season and he has arguably been our player of the match in every appearance he’s made for us so far…
However, up against Destiny Udogie, who defensively has shown resilience, he’ll also be looking to invert into midfield and further up the pitch depending on game-state but this is where the wide attackers need to take advantage of the space in behind. Tottenham will look to dominate the ball and should Chelsea have to rely on counters, then you can certainly picture Palmer dropping wide into the space Udogie will leave in trying to pick out Sterling or Nicolas Jackson.
Palmer is without a doubt Chelsea’s beacon of hope and should Pochettino’s side create chances, let alone score you’d certainly expect Palmer to be at the heart of it.
Written by Vikram Jajuha (@CFCVik)
Edited by Harrison Burridge (@hburridge2)
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