Chelsea defeated Championship side Blackburn Rovers in the Carabao Cup last night to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition, and get themselves back on track in advance of the game against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
It’s a story of contrasting fortunes for London rivals Tottenham and Chelsea right now. While Spurs are flying high at the top of the table under their new manager, Ange Postecoglou, the Blues are showing very little sign of progress under Mauricio Pochettino.
Despite spending big yet again in the summer, Chelsea currently sit just outside the top ten in the Premier League with 12 points from their first ten games.
October was looking like a good month for the Stamford Bridge outfit, with wins over Fulham and Burnley, and a draw against Arsenal. However, last weekend, Pochettino’s men succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Brentford.
It’s very much a case of one step forward, two steps back for Chelsea right now, but they did pick up a win yesterday, albeit in the Carabao Cup and against a side a division lower than them.
Goals from Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling sealed a 2-0 win at home for Chelsea against Blackburn, and rather interestingly, the Blues fielded a full-strength line up for the game.
While rare starts were handed to the likes of Marc Cucurella and Lesley Ugochukwu, key players such as Enzo Fernandez, Reece James, and Nicolas Jackson were all present. All three were substituted during the game, however, likely in an effort to conserve their energy for Spurs.
Fernandez and Cole Palmer both played 87 minutes. Jackson was replaced after 76 minutes, with Moises Caicedo taking the field, while young defender Levi Colwill came on an hour in and got 30 minutes under his belt.
With Caicedo and Colwill not playing a full 90 yesterday, we should not be surprised to see both starting against Tottenham.
Spurs Web Opinion
It’s hard to predict what kind of Chelsea performance we will see on Monday as they are so inconsistent. The home crowd will be so important, and it will be very interesting to see what reception they give Pochettino on his return, but you have to fancy Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right now.
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