Just three games of football stand between Thomas Tuchel and his third piece of silverware as Chelsea manager, with Stamford Bridge hosting this League Cup semi-final first-leg.
The hosts are eight-time winners of this competition, though they haven’t lifted it since 2014/15, and whilst Chelsea has wobbled of late, they remain unbeaten in eight games (W3, D5). Even with home advantage, this won’t be a walk in the park for the ‘Blues’ as three of their last six League Cup home games needed a penalty shoot-out to settle affairs.
Although this game cannot go to penalties until the return leg at Tottenham, a nip-and-tuck affair can be expected after Chelsea had to overcome a deficit to avoid defeat in three of their last five home games.
On the other hand, Tottenham looks like a side transformed since the appointment of enigmatic former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, who became Spurs’ first manager since the Premier League was introduced to go unbeaten across their opening eight league games (W5, D3). That confidence will serve them well again here, as Conte targets this competition as his best opportunity of a trophy.
The only side to win at the Bridge this season has been the rampant Manchester City, winners of this competition for the last four years running. If Tottenham can replicate that, they should feel confident of picking up some silverware for the first time since winning this trophy in 2007/08, although Spurs have visited Chelsea for two cup semi-finals in the last five years, losing both despite getting on the scoresheet.
Players to watch: Christian Pulisic equalized for Chelsea versus Liverpool on the stroke of half-time last time out, meaning five of his last seven goals came before the interval.
For Spurs, Heung-Min Son has an impressive six-goal contribution in his last seven appearances (G4, A2) but has only two goals in 14 previous H2Hs.