It’s almost time for us to find out who will be contesting the first cup final of the English domestic season. There are four teams remaining with the Carabao Cup (League Cup) semi finals being right around the corner. Of course, with a two legged affair you never quite know what is going to happen, which is why the first 90 minutes is so important. The first of the two semis will take place between two of London’s finest, as Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea in a game that has many different storylines and connotations to get through.

These two sides almost certainly won’t need to rely on any cup competitions to get into Europe at the end of the season, but at the end of the day, that isn’t what is important here. It’s not exactly a secret that these two teams don’t particularly like each other, and they’d love nothing more than to knock the other one out. Either way we’re going to get two legs, though, so both teams will suffer equally when it comes to fatigue, and you have to wonder whether or not knocking out their rivals is more important to them than lifting the trophy itself.

Tottenham have had a really strong start to the campaign, and depending on how things go for them in the January transfer window, they could have some really bright days on the horizon when it comes to May. Of course, they’re known for their inconsistency, but if they can edge past the Blues and make it back to Wembley then they’ll have a great chance of picking up some silverware – which would be a real morale booster for Mauricio Pochettino. Plus, given that Wembley is technically their home right now, they’ve got plenty of experience playing on that pitch.

Chelsea, on the other hand, will likely be fighting for a place in the top four throughout the course of the rest of the season. If that does indeed prove to be the case, a piece of silverware would likely be a welcome bonus for Maurizio Sarri. They’ve still got the FA Cup too but the need for revenge with Spurs will likely spur them on even further, and provided that Manchester City get past Burton Albion, the Blues will rest easy knowing that they’re more than capable of beating City when they’re playing to the best of their abilities.

Tottenham’s last six game stretch kicked off with their Carabao Cup quarter final game, in which they were able to dispatch of bitter rivals Arsenal. They followed that up with 11 goals in two games against Everton and Bournemouth, which left many fans wondering whether or not they could mount a serious title challenger. Alas, they came crashing back down to earth with a 3-1 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but it’s fair to say that they know how to get back on track when things go wrong. They beat Cardiff 3-0 before absolutely destroying Tranmere 7-0 in the FA Cup.

Chelsea’s last six game run began with their own win in the Carabao Cup, although there’s was a little bit less convincing against Bournemouth. They then received a bit of a shock in the form of a 1-0 loss to Leicester City, but to their credit, they rebounded with wins over Watford and Crystal Palace. Their 0-0 draw against Southampton was a little bit questionable but they showed great resilience in the FA Cup the other day, overcoming an early penalty miss to defeat Championship side Nottingham Forest. Many won’t be surprised by that, given we all know how well they’ve done in that competition in the past.

The overall head to head standings lean in favour of the Blue side of London, with Chelsea leading 68-53 with 40 draws to go alongside that. Their first meeting took place way back in 1909 and ever since then, both sides have had spells at the top of English football. Both sets of fans won’t forget their last meeting back in November, as Tottenham inflicted a first Premier League defeat of the season on Chelsea with an emphatic 3-1 triumph. Spurs also won 3-1 in the meeting before that back in April, with some suggesting that the tides are beginning to turn in this ‘rivalry’.

Spurs have absences in the form of Vincent Janssen, Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama, although Dier is back in training and will be hoping to push for a start in one of their games following this one. Dembele and Vertonghen are also on the verge of returns despite missing the game against Tranmere, but with the January transfer window being upon us, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not Pochettino prioritises them as starters or decides to bring in some reinforcements. Either way, the Argentine boss has a strong line-up to choose from in this one.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be arguably the biggest player missed in this one for Chelsea, after he picked up a back injury against Forest. Kovacic, Pedro, Willian and Giroud are all set to be assessed on the day, but there are still questions surrounding whether or not Sarri will allow all of them to feature even if they’re cleared. Callum Hudson-Odoi put in a cracking shift in the FA Cup and many fans are calling for him to start again, especially given that more game time could cause him to stay at the club instead of heading abroad as the rumour mill suggests.

Tottenham vs Chelsea Betting Prediction

We can see this being quite an open, free flowing game, especially if both teams put out relatively strong sides which we think they’re likely to do. Chelsea are likely going to try and frustrate Spurs into making a mistake, but Pochettino’s men just feel like they’re far too good in an attacking sense. We can see the home side taking the lead pretty early on before holding onto it, before adding to their advantage early in the second half.

From that point on they’ll likely try and ride out the result, knowing that a two goal advantage to take back to Stamford Bridge leaves them in a really comfortable position. Alas, it’s just not a good idea to pull that kind of trick against a side who are as talented as Chelsea, as we’ve all seen before. The Blues will score late on to give themselves renewed hope ahead of the second leg, and we really do believe that’ll change the entire tempo of their next encounter. It may not impact the result and we do think Spurs will end up qualifying for the final, but you just never know what one moment of magic can do in this game.

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