Paul Merson has made his prediction for Tottenham Hotspur’s London derby fixture against Chelsea and he expects their winless run to continue.
Tottenham returned from the international break with a 4-0 win over Manchester City, providing hope that they had overcome a short-term slump after defeats to Galatasaray and Ipswich Town. But since then life at Spurs has been pretty bleak, with them failing to win three consecutive matches.
Most recently Spurs were defeated by Bournemouth in a match described on Prime Video as a 1-0 battering, with the home team having enough chances to finish off their opponents much earlier than they did, leading to some ugly scenes after the full-time whistle between Ange Postecoglou and the away supporters.
And now Tottenham are up against Chelsea, who have scored 10 goals in their three Premier League matches since their players returned from international duty and sit second in the league table, eight points clear of Spurs.
Paul Merson has predicted a Chelsea win and he has little to say about Spurs other than that their first-team squad is much weaker than their London rivals.
Writing on Sportskeeda, he said: “The only thing that worries me with Chelsea is that they gave away a couple of really good chances to Southampton, even when they were only playing against 10 men. The goalkeeper made a great save at 3-1. If that goes in, it becomes 3-2. I’m not nitpicking with Chelsea, it was still a great result. But that would be my worry about them.
“It does not take anything away from the fact that they won 5-1 while resting many of their key players. That is a masterstroke from Enzo Maresca. When the team sheet came in, I thought, oh my, what are you doing? This is the Premier League, you can’t be taking any team lightly’. But those changes did not have a detrimental impact on Chelsea.
“I wouldn’t label Chelsea as genuine title contenders though. It’s hard to call them that. They have a good squad, probably the strongest in the Premier League. But they played Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool this season and took just one point. That is why they are not contenders yet.
“If you’re a fan, Tottenham away from home is Chelsea’s biggest game of the season. Chelsea lost in this fixture last season so this is a huge game. If they can win against Spurs, it will send a massive statement. I won’t label Tottenham as one of the ‘big boys’ in the league but they are a team that can beat a lot of teams and we’ve seen that already this season.
“If Chelsea secure a top-four finish and win a trophy, this would become a phenomenal season for them. Anything more than that would be incredible but unlikely.
“Ange Postecoglou wants Tottenham to be entertaining, that’s how they try to play. Chelsea have better players in nearly every position and may have too much for Spurs to handle.”
Prediction: Tottenham 1-3 Chelsea
Although Merson has said Tottenham defeated Chelsea in this fixture last season, this is incorrect. Chelsea won 4-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against a 9-man Spurs team and also won the game at Stamford Bridge. The last time the Lilywhites beat Chelsea was in this fixture two seasons ago in February 2023.
Questions have been raised about the way Tottenham defend, whether at set pieces or playing a high line and while they could have conceded a few more goals against Bournemouth, they only let in one yet still lost the game because their attack has fallen to pieces.
Only Chelsea and Liverpool have scored more goals than Spurs in the league this season, but they did not look competent in front of goal on Thursday night and if they continue this way, they will be defeated. But then again, Spurs do seem more comfortable facing teams higher in the table, so maybe there is a chance.
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