Tottenham Hotspur will play their first ever Premier League game at Wembley this weekend, with champions Chelsea set to provide the opposition on Sunday afternoon.
Much has been spoken of Spurs’ ropey record at the national stadium in the run-up to this season; Mauricio Pochettino’s men played five games across north London in 2016/17 and won only one of them, a dead rubber Champions League tie against CKSA Moscow. Replicating last term’s home record of 17 wins and two draws from 19 matches at White Hart Lane therefore looks like a monumental task, but Tottenham will be optimistic about their chances of enjoying a successful season away from their natural home.
Their campaign began at St James’ Park last weekend, as the 2016/17 runners-up secured a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United thanks to goals from Dele Alli and Ben Davies. Spurs struggled to break down a well-organised defensive rearguard in the first half on Sunday, but the sending-off of Jonjo Shelvey in the 48th minute handed the visitors the initiative. Tottenham have had a low-key summer, with no new signings made at the time of writing, but an opening-weekend triumph was exactly what they needed ahead of another significant season for the club.
Chelsea’s start was altogether more troublesome, as Burnley picked up a shock 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge. Gary Cahill’s early red card changed the dynamic of the entire match, but Antonio Conte will still have been disappointed with his team’s defending for the three goals the champions conceded in the opening period. Chelsea almost admirably fought their way back into the game after the interval, but Cesc Fabregas compounded matters by foolishly picking up a second yellow card late on to further reduce the hosts’ numbers.
All does not seem well between Conte and the club’s board at present. Despite having a thin squad to begin with, the Blues have not strengthened their squad depth this summer; indeed, although Antonio Rudiger, Alvaro Morata, Andreas Christensen and Tiemoue Bakayoko have been added to the group, Diego Costa, Nathan Ake, Nathaniel Chalobah, Nemanja Matic and have either moved on or, in Costa’s case, been exiled from the first team. With Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tammy Abraham, Izzy Brown and Kurt Zouma spending the season out on loan, Chelsea’s squad arguably looks weaker than last term.
Tottenham alternated between three- and four-man backlines last year, but a 4-2-3-1 formation looks most likely this weekend. Victor Wanyama could replace Eric Dier to add more steel to the midfield, while Son Heung-min is likely to be preferred to Moussa Sissoko further forward, but Erik Lamela (hip), Georges-Kevin N’Koudou (foot), Danny Rose (knee) and Kieran Trippier (ankle) will miss out through injury. Pochettino’s charges, who averaged 56 per cent possession at home last year, will look to control the ball this weekend; a 41 per cent tackle success rate was higher than any Premier League team, meanwhile, and Tottenham will continue with their customary high-pressing approach at Wembley.
Conte has a selection headache ahead of this encounter, with Cahill (suspension), Fabregas (suspension), Eden Hazard (ankle) and Bakayoko (knee) all missing and Pedro Rodriguez a doubt. David Luiz could be pushed into midfield alongside N’Golo Kante, while Morata will probably replace Michy Batshuayi – who was ineffectual against Burnley – up top. The Blues scored seven league goals on the counter-attack last season and will look to cause Spurs problems on the break at Wembley.
On balance, it is probably worth backing Tottenham to come out on top this weekend. Chelsea do not look in good shape given the injuries and suspensions Conte has to contend with, while Spurs should have success in dictating the tempo of the game in front of their own supporters. A win for Pochettino’s side in a match featuring fewer than 2.5 goals looks like a tempting proposition.
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