Spurs on a revenge mission
LONDON. — Chelsea will face their biggest test of the season against Tottenham Hotspur tonight, manager Antonio Conte said as his team chase English Premier League soccer history. The match kicks-off at 10pm. Chelsea, who finished 10th in the league last season, are five points clear at the top and will arrive at White Hart Lane seeking to better Arsenal’s record of 13 consecutive victories in a season.
“It’s another challenge, another type of football to face (from Stoke) because Tottenham like to play from the back. They like to put a lot of pressure on when you are in possession,” Conte said.
“We have to prepare very well because this game for sure will be very, very tough for us, but also for them. For sure (this match) is the biggest test. I think for us now every game is the biggest test.”
Chelsea showed great resilience in their 4-2 win over Stoke City but Conte expected a different challenge from their next opponents.
“Tottenham is a good team. Last season they could have won the title and this season they have a stronger team. For sure we will see a good game,” the Italian added.
And Tottenham Hotspur will have revenge in mind when they tackle record-chasing Premier League leaders Chelsea beneath the White Hart Lane floodlights tonight.
Chelsea came from behind to win 2-1 when the teams last met in November, but it is last May’s 2-2 draw between the London rivals, which ended Spurs’ title hopes, that will be uppermost in the hosts’ thoughts.
With Chelsea seeking to pull eight points clear at the summit and pursuing a 14th straight win -- an unprecedented feat within a single English topflight season -- the boot is now on the other foot.
“Maybe we will feel how Leicester felt last season, when all the teams were with them and against us,” said Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, citing the team who pipped his side to glory last season. “Maybe now we are Leicester.” Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge in November completed a run of one win in 10 matches in all competitions that suggested they would struggle to repeat last season’s exploits.
But since then Pochettino’s side have rediscovered their rhythm, winning five of their last six league games and scoring 18 goals in the process.
They welcome Chelsea to north London 10 points behind the leaders, but seeking a fifth successive league victory.
Sunday’s 4-1 win at Watford, which followed a 4-1 success at Southampton, briefly took Spurs into the top four, only for Manchester City to supplant them by beating Burnley on Monday.
Dele Alli is the English Premier League’s form midfielder, having scored five goals in his last three games, and he will not be satisfied with anything but victory against Chelsea.
“We’re in good form and we’ve got good confidence,” the England midfielder told Spurs club website after the New Year’s Day victory at Vicarage Road.
“It’s a good atmosphere in the changing room. This is an important win for us and for our mentality going into the next match because it’s a massive game for us and it’s important that we win it.”
Jurgen Klopp, manager of second-place Liverpool, has been doing his utmost to rattle Chelsea by claiming it must be “annoying” that they have not been able to shake the Merseyside team off.
But his words came back to haunt him after Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Sunderland on Monday left Chelsea five points clear.
Conte’s side have not failed to win since their 3-0 loss at Arsenal on September 24.
They racked up win number 13 by overcoming Stoke City 4-2 on New Year’s Eve, equalling Arsenal’s 2002 record for the most consecutive wins within the same English Premier League campaign.
Victory at Spurs will equal Arsenal’s overall record of 14 successive wins — set over two seasons in 2002 — and leave them one win from claiming the record outright.
With history beckoning, Chelsea’s players are doing their level best to treat the game like any other.
“It’s not like all week we’ve been saying, ‘We want this record, we want this record,’” centre-back Gary Cahill told Chelsea TV.
“We’ve just kept going. And I think that’s the right mentality to have. Being aware of the record and wanting to achieve them, there’s nothing wrong with that. For sure I want to achieve it.
“Every player wants to be a part of records — I’m not shy about saying that — but it’s not something we speak about. We just have to keep focused on the job that we’re doing.”
Although spared from the 48-hour turnarounds imposed on some of their rivals by the fixture schedulers, both Pochettino and his Chelsea counterpart Conte could elect to rotate their starting XIs.
Pedro Rodriguez returns from suspension for Chelsea and will hope to recover his place from Willian, while Cesc Fabregas’s position is under threat from the more defensively minded Nemanja Matic.
Spurs will welcome back first-choice defenders Kyle Walker and Jan Vertonghen, both of whom missed the trip to Watford through suspension. — AFP.