please log in to view this image Chelsea host Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 8th March 2014 (KO 17:30) in the 29th round of 2013-14 Premier League matches. Chelsea come into the game in first place on 63 points with Spurs in 5th place on 53 points. This will be the 192nd time the two teams have met each other. Chelsea are one of the few major English football teams who never played Spurs during the Victorian Era, as they were only founded in 1905 and were admitted into the Second Division of the Football League without ever having played a match before. This was due to the rivalry that existed at the time between the Football League and the Southern League with the former desperate to make in-roads into the lucrative markets which London and the South-East provided. The first meeting between Spurs and Chelsea was a friendly played at Stamford Bridge in February 1908 and ended in a 1-1 draw. The same venue saw the first Football League Division One encounter in December 1909 and Chelsea won that match 2-1. The return fixture at White Hart Lane was won by Spurs 2-1 and in between those two matches the clubs met in the old second round (today's fourth round) of the FA Cup in a match which Spurs won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. Spurs and Chelsea would meet for another three seasons in the First Division before the outbreak of World War One with honours even at two wins for Spurs, two wins for Chelsea and two drawn matches. 14 games were played during the First World War and these featured many players who 'guested' for both clubs. Five of Tottenham's "home" games were played at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium. Spurs and Chelsea had finished in the bottom two places in the last season of the First Division when war broke out and when football resumed in 1919, the Division was expanded from 20 to 22 teams. Arsenal engineered a 'promotion' to the First Division at Spurs' expense but Tottenham easilly won the Division Two Championship and the next season had two emphatic wins over Chelsea 5-0 at home and 4-0 at the Bridge. The teams would meet for another five seasons in the First Division and two seasons in the Second Division during the inter-war period - season 1929-30 was the last time Spurs & Chelsea played League games outside the Top Flight of English Football. Spurs only lost two of those 14 League matches. During World War Two, 16 games were played between Spurs and Chelsea Spurs returned to the First Division in season 1950-51 and did the 'double' over Chelsea winning 2-0 away and 2-1 at home on their way to the first Football League Championship. Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea contested the first all-London FA Cup Final in 1967 at Wembley with Spurs winning 2-1 thanks to goals scored by Jimmy Robertson and Frank Saul. The first meeting in the Football League Cup came in the 1971-72 Semi-Finals with Chelsea winning the first leg at Stamford Bridge 3-2 and Spurs only managing a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane. Both clubs were founder members of the Premier League in 1992-93 and both have been ever-present for the 21 seasons of the competition, along with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United. Chelsea have very much had the upper hand during the Premier League Era with 23 wins to Tottenham's 3 with the remaining 15 matches drawn. A second domestic Cup Final was contested in 2008 when Spurs beat Chelsea in the Football League (Carling) Cup Final 2-1 after extra time at Wembley. A Dimitar Berbatov penalty and a Jonathan Woodgate header ensured the silverware would once again reside in North London. The 2010-11 fixture in December at White Hart Lane resulted in a 1-1 draw with Roman Pavlyuchenko scoring for Spurs after 15 minutes and Didier Drogba getting Chelsea's equaliser after 70 minutes. Drogba's injury time penalty was saved by Heurelho Gomes. The reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge in April was won by Chelsea 2-1 with Spurs taking a 19th minute lead through Sandro and Frank Lampard equalising on half time. Salomon Kalou scored the winner after 89 minutes. The 2011-12 match at White Hart Lane in December resulted in a 1-1 draw with Emmanuel Adebayor putting Spurs ahead after 8 minutes and Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge getting the equaliser in the 23rd minute. The game at Stamford Bridge in March ended in a goalless draw. Chelsea won the 2012 FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley 5-1 with the turning-point coming from a 49th minute Juan Mata goal which never crossed the line. Didier Drogba had put the Blues ahead just before the interval and Spurs managed to pull a goal back in the 56th minute through Gareth Bale. Three further goals from Ramares, Lampard and Malouda were added for Chelsea. Andre Villas-Boas was sacked as Chelsea's manager in March 2012 and became the manager of Tottenham Hotspur on 3rd July 2012. The match at White Hart Lane in October 2012 was won by Chelsea 4-2. A Gary Cahill volly after 17 minutes was the only goal of the first half and Spurs went ahead with goals from William Gallas and Jermain Defoe. A brace from Juan Mata and a Daniel Sturridge goal gave Chelsea the three points. The teams drew 2-2 at Stamford Bridge in May 2013 with Oscar opening the scoring after 10 minutes and Emmanuel Adebayor getting the equaliser after 26 minutes. Ramires put Chelsea ahead again after 39 minutes but Gylfi Sigurdsson scored 10 minutes from the end. Sigurdsson scored again in the 19th minute at White Hart Lane in September 2013 to put Spurs 1-0 ahead of Chelsea but John Terry equalised for the Blues after 65 minutes to ensure the points were shared. Overall, Spurs have won 68, Chelsea have won 74 and 49 of the 191 matches between the two clubs have been drawn. please log in to view this image Full History of Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea Matches 1908-2014 please log in to view this image They Played for Spurs & Chelsea.... Clive Allen Les Allen Jimmy Armstrong Frank Arnesen (Director of Football both clubs) Eddie Bailey Ted Birnie Danny Blanchflower (Spurs player, Chelsea manager) Derek Brazil Johnny Brooks Bill Cartwright Sid Castle David Copeland Carlo Cudicini Jason Cundy Kerry Dixon Gordon Durie Mark Falco William Gallas Lee Gardner George Graham (Chelsea player, Spurs manager) Jimmy Greaves Frode Grodas Eidur Gudjohnsen Tommy Harmer (Spurs player, Chelsea coach) Alan Harris (Chelsea player, Spurs asst. manager) Micky Hazard Glenn Hoddle (Spurs & Chelsea player & manager) Stewart Houston (Chelsea player, Spurs asst. manager) Percy Humphries Steve Kelly John Kirwan Colin Lee Scott Parker Gustavo Poyet Graham Roberts Max Seeburg Buchanan Sharp Bobby Smith Neil Sullivan Andy Thompson (Spurs player, Chelsea coach) Sid Tickridge Jimmy Townley Terry Venables (also Spurs manager) Andre Villas-Boas (manager at both clubs) Keith Weller Ernie Walley (Spurs player, Chelsea asst. manager) Harry Wilding Clive Wilson Vivian Woodward please log in to view this image Tottenham Hotspur Premier League Player's Squad Numbers 1993-94 to 2013-14 Chelsea Premier League Player's Squad Numbers 1993-94 to 2013-14 Premier League London Derbies Season 2013-14 please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Cant believe Im saying this, but I hope Spurs win, as I see Chelsea more of a threat right now for Liverpool.
Thanks for another great thread, THFC! I can't get past having Sandro, Dembele and Paulinho, and maybe even Bentaleb, to battle for midfield. Ade up front (if healthy--that bandage worred me). Then it's a choice between Lennon for width or Soldado for two strikers to really roll the dice. The most surprising stat is that Oscar and Soldado have the same number of goals and assists.
Lennon and Sandro are the two players you start every game as they have such great work ethic which is needed in such games, especially if things aren't going our way, but Chelsea are likely to attack us down the wings and take advantage of our weakness at full back, thats the main worry so Lennon has to be there to track back. Its a shame for Soldado we face such a tough away game as if we faced Arsenal at home it would be ideal to put him right back in the team after his goal and a N London derby to play in! but just to increase our slim chances of getting a result, I would go with Adebayor.
Until players arrive back from international duty it's trying to have a discussion about this game. Can't believe there is an IB at this point in the season. Beggars belief really. EDIT= * it's difficult*
The stats show Eden Hazard to be the stand out player and how Spurs cope with him (bearing in mind how Aguero and Suarez have fared) will be the key. Jason Cundy Who's going to disown him first?
It's a shame Chelsea play with no width as that is definitely the area where Spurs could be exploited. The key for Spurs will be isolating Cahill. If Adebayor comes up 1v1 against him Spurs have a good chance, he's still the weak link in that Chelsea back line for sure. Chelsea are a second half team so Spurs need to start well or it's difficult to see how they can come away with anything. Think we will win this though, been too strong at home to the better teams and Spurs seem to be fading under Sherwood.
The bookies and for that matter most on this board are with you, I think, but I don't know. We've played one game this year with you, drawn it (albeit at home) and improved from there. I wouldn't say Spurs have been fading. We've won three of four and just got into the last 16 of Europa. Strong performances remain thin in the field, but more from lack of group cohesion in a new team, I think, than lack of individual talent or squad depth. You certainly can't rule out our getting blown out of the water, given our results this year, but I wouldn't rule out much of anything else, either. We've been nothing this year if not unpredictable.
Verts gets found out agaisnt pace as much as Dawson. If we look at the batterings we have had, its not really fair to focus on Dawson, hes the easy target because anyone can say "Dawson has no pace", its more the overall set-up of the team which puts too much pressure on our defence and allows runners from midfield to attack our defence at ease.
I'm going to be perfectly honest and say the thing that stoodout for me most this weekend was Edin Hazards performance, a number of moments of great skill, and controlled the game at will. Whilst admiring the little ****! it occured who his next PL opponents will be......a severe test for Naughton and Dawson as defenders, and MD/Pauli/NB as deep mids. A fit Sandro being imo the only DM of ours who could shackle him, but he's not ready. Even more severe is the test for Sherwood outwitting Mourinho, both destined to failure if form follows. We'll need massive good fortune to get anything here, so all I'm interested in is a shift, and not conceding the customary 4,5 or 6 against one of the top sides. Unfortunate the next two games for Soldado are what they are, he needs a run now after his goal and he's not going to get it, how typical an International break gets in the way aswell...more pointless travel for many. This is obviously a 5 man mid, 1 up top game for me, and the one has to be Ade.
We've taken much better "teams" to the bridge in the past, and still been beaten. I can't see us getting anything out of this one. Defensively, we'll probably get torn apart. As we're away, it's likely we'll see ourselves set up with midfield protection of the back 4. Unfortunately it'll mean Eriksen will be the player to make way again, and we'll have no link between defence and attack. Chelsea will boss the game in terms of possession IMO and most of the play will be in our half. Gonna be another fun one to watch!
Chelsea FTW , apart from Dawson our defence is sh!t. we have good wing backs but crappy defenders any team in the premiership can score against us , just hope Adebayor wont get board before the season ends.
Fryers has pulled out of the England U21 game because of injury. Let's hope that it's either precautionary or that Rose makes it back, as we'll end up picking an unfit Walker and sticking Naughton on the left otherwise.
Now Bobby has scored, his confidence will soar,and maybe we will draw,need Sandro and Paulinho for this one IMO
Walker confirmed on SSN as not in contention to play v Denmark, contniuing rehab gym work....why is he there??? Naughton it is on Sat. then...GULP!
Certainly if Walker and Rose are both out but genereally sides don't get too much joy down the wings when Rose and Walker are both playing. City's main outlet against us in the 5-1 was Silva who was moving in field from the wing rather than any proper wing play. Tactically there's not much hope for us because Sherwood doesn't use any tactics, we're just going to have to rely on all our players having good games and you guys having a bad game.
