After a busy midweek for both teams, Sunday’s 12:00 kick off looks to be the survival of the fittest. Chelsea had an easy 4-0 win in midweek against Maccabi Tel-Aviv, but a combination of jetlag and injuries to John Terry and Ramires will give Mourinho a managerial headache for this weekend.
Spurs are also struggling with injuries, with Nabil Bentaleb, Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela and Alex Pritchard all out. Spurs faced a six-hour flight back from Qarabag after a 1-0 win in the Europa League. They left Mousa Dembele, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker at home in the hope they will be rested for Sunday’s crucial clash.
Jose Mourinho described the surface in Israel as “bad and dangerous” and hinted this may have caused both Terry’s and Ramires’ injuries. After a fiery confrontation in midweek with Diego Costa, the Portuguese tactician will hope his star striker is on top form against Spurs with his men 10 places behind their London rivals.
After a disastrous start to the season, the Blues have looked better in the past couple of games, with a 1-0 victory over Norwich, their first in the Premier League since the 2-0 win against Aston Villa, which came back in October.
In contrast, Tottenham have had an impressive start to the season, equalling their club record of 12 Premier League games unbeaten, their most recent a comfortable 4-1 demolition of West Ham.
