Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a major boost ahead of their Premier League clash against Chelsea on Sunday.
Croatian international Mateo Kovačić will miss the game against Antonio Conte’s side because of a knee injury.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Kovacic is currently struggling with his knee and the Blues have decided to reduce his training time and focus on his recovery for now.
“Kova is injured, unfortunately, and has issues with his knee,” Tuchel said on Friday (h/t Metro).
“We decided to take a step back and increase treatment time and reduce the stress that comes from training to have a normal reaction before we start again.”
The 28-year-old was on the bench during Chelsea’s trip to Goodison Park last week and his absence against Spurs could come as a major blow for the home side.
Chelsea barely managed to scrape a win against Everton and they will be up against a confident Tottenham side on Sunday.
Spurs managed to pick up a comfortable 4-1 win at home against Southampton despite not hitting top gear.
It seems that Conte’s men have picked up from where they left off towards the end of last season and they will be full of confidence heading into this contest.
Chelsea will have to improve immensely in order to grind out a positive result against Spurs. The absence of Kovačić will weaken them significantly in the midfield and it remains to be seen whether Spurs can grind out a vital away win against their bitter rivals.
The Croatian is undoubtedly the best midfielder at Chelsea based on his performances last season and the Blues will struggle to control the proceedings in the middle of the park without him.
Yeah so would I and give it another 2 weeks they will be conte fit and in.
Games like this is where Perisic would make a difference as he goes into battle , he would understand it’s a derby and go the extra mile.
Would love to see Bissouma and Perisic start or at least get 45mins in.
Yeah Kante and Jorginho all day… Strong midfield they have.. After selling Lukaku they need a striker. Werner doesn’t cut it. They’re going for Aubamayang… But obviously he won’t be playing Sunday. They don’t have a target man. Mount and Pullisic can nab a goal for them, but they are crying out for a focal point striker..
You’re right. Chelsea have killed us in mf in recent years. Could be Bissouma time!
I’m not sure Kova is better than Kante and Jorginho. Plus they still have Mount, Pulisic, Zitech, RLC, Gallagher and Barkley. This is what we need- quality depth.
We’ll smash them 3-1… Need Kane and Son to both turn up, they were off the boil last week.
The Chavski are strong but they don’t have enough up top. We are stronger.
I feel confident, which is odd, but if we are to move on then this is the sort of game we have to do well in.
I am rarely confident of going in to a fixture against this lot, especially after last season’s efforts. We were abject in all 4 games to be honest. Our midfield was battered in each of the games with Hojbjeg huffing and puffing alot, but to no avail. We’ll see if Bents and Biss make us really better? This will be a good barometer to see where Conte has taken us and if we are closer to third than last season.
This is a tough personnel match-up for Spurs, even without Kovacic. Chelsea are a bit light in front and in back, but are thick in midfield. Thick enough even to consider letting Ziyech go.
Spurs in recent history struggle in discipline against strong midfields, trying to continuously play over the top, trying to skip the midfield play.
This match should see a lot of Harry Kane dropped into the midfield for balance. Spurs may opt for a faster Richarlison in place of a slow-paced Kulusevski. The wingbacks really have to step up in matches like this.
Easy to say, “An in-form Spurs ought to overcome a slightly deflated Chelsea.” It does not work like that. This is a personnel match-up that usually works against Spurs. They struggle with it.
Hojbjerg needs some discipline this match to compete, rather than dropping permanently back in pressure and leaving a hole for Chelsea to boss.
Tough, tough match coming up. If Spurs can find a way to win against this sort of match-up, it is a huge statement of progress.