Jose Mourinho leads Tottenham Hotspur up against his former club Chelsea on Sunday. The Portuguese manager will want nothing more than to win versus the Blues and inflict another loss on the club.
Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League but holding onto the position by their fingernails. Chelsea have lost four of their last five league matches with their most recent defeat coming at Stamford Bridge versus Bournemouth, 1-0.
The gap between fourth place and the chasing pack has narrowed and Tottenham Hotspur are just three points behind the Blues going into the weekend. It looks likely that there will be a fight for the fourth-place position as just five points separate Chelsea and eighth-place Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The home team has won the last four matches in all competitions between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. Mourinho’s team will have the advantage playing at home. Spurs also have momentum having won back to back fixtures in the Premier League.
Chelsea are unbeaten in six of their last 10 matches in all competitions versus Tottenham Hotspur. However, the wildcard on Sunday will be Mourinho. He has Spurs playing good football although there are certainly still issues with the squad.
Frank Lampard is still waiting on the fitness of defender Fikayo Tomori and striker Olivier Giroud. The latter is expected to leave in January with Chelsea linked to Bordeaux striker Josh Maja. Tomori has a groin strain and it could keep him out of action. Boxing Day may be a more likely return for Tomori.
Five players are ruled out for Tottenham Hotspur. Hugo Lloris is still recovering from a dislocated elbow but his tentative return time has been pushed up to February. Back-up goalie Michel Vorm is also recovering from injury. He has a calf strain.
Midfielder Tanguay Ndombele has once again been ruled out of action. He will be joined by the nearly always injured Erik Lamela and Ben Davies.
Spurs are playing well and with their home support behind them, should win versus Chelsea on Sunday to move into the top four. The Blues are struggling and if striker Tammy Abraham continues to misfire, Chelsea will drop points away from home.
Abraham has failed to score in all six of Chelsea’s losses. Chelsea can win without Abraham scoring, but they do lose games when he doesn’t find the back of the net.
Seven of the last 10 matches between the clubs have seen over 2.5 goals scored. Mourinho will lead Tottenham Hotspur to a win with over 2.5 goals being scored.