The semi-finals of the 2018/19 English Football League Cup take place this week and the first of the games will be played on Tuesday night. The match is between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley, the current home of Spurs.
The EFL Cup semi-final is played over two legs, so it is important for the home team to take an advantage with them for the second leg. Will Tottenham Hotspur do that or can Chelsea take a huge step towards the final by picking up an away win?
Tottenham are enjoying a fantastic season under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine manager has led his team to the knockout stages of the Champions League, to the fourth round of the FA Cup and they currently sit third in the Premier League.
Having brushed aside Tranmere Rovers 7-0 in the FA Cup third round on the weekend, with a much changed team, Tottenham Hotspur will be feeling great heading into this match. Trends show they have won eight of their last nine games in all competitions, suffering just one defeat. In fact, Tottenham Hotspur have lost only two of their last seventeen matches, which is a good record.
They have faced some tough ties in the EFL Cup this season, coming through on penalties against Watford and beating both West Ham United and Arsenal away from home. Tottenham Hotspur have scored 2 or more goals in each of their three EFL Cup games this season.
Chelsea also played in the FA Cup on the weekend and much like Spurs, they made changes to their starting XI. However, Chelsea were still too strong for Championship team Nottingham Forest and they ran out 2-0 winners at Stamford Bridge.
That result means Chelsea have won three and drawn one of their last four games in all competitions, with wins in the Premier League over Watford and Crystal Palace adding to the victory in the FA Cup.
Away form shows Chelsea have won each of their last three games, all of which were in the Premier League but prior to the win at Brighton, Chelsea went three games without a win. Included in that was a 3-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and Chelsea will be keen to avoid a similar result in this match.
Chelsea have defeated Liverpool, Derby County and Bournemouth to reach this stage of the competition.
Looking ahead to the team news and Tottenham Hotspur still have doubts over Eric Dier, Victor Wanyama, Moussa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen and Erik Lamela. Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane are all expected to start having missed out on the weekend.
Chelsea have doubts over Olivier Giroud, Pedro, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Willian. Kepa, Jorginho, Antonio Rudiger, Marcos Alonso, N’Golo Kante and Eden Hazard are expected to start having not done so on the weekend.
This is a going to be an exciting first leg, with goals but Tottenham Hotspur are in great form and should have the fire power to win this one and set-up a great second leg.