Premier League
Tottenham vs Chelsea prediction
Chelsea will be looking to extend their impressive start to the 2021-22 Premier League season under Thomas Tuchel in a North London derby on Sunday away to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Blues were 1-0 winners at home to Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League on Tuesday night, which means they have had significantly more time to recover and prepare for this weekend’s trip across the capital. That’s because Spurs weren’t in action until Thursday in the Europa League, drawing away to Rennes in France.
Tottenham caused a huge shock on the opening weekend of the season by beating champions Manchester City 1-0 without Harry Kane. The England captain is only getting up and running now after refusing to turn up to training at the start of the season, demanding the club accept an offer from City.
Two more 1-0 victories, against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Watford, despite a couple of injuries in the squad, had fans excited by new manager Nuno. And then they were hammered 0-3 at Crystal Palace last weekend managed by former Arsenal Premier League winning captain Patrick Vieira of all people.
That result in particular is why Chelsea are the odds on favourites. That and the additional 48 hours’ rest and preparation. History is also in the Blues’ favour having won on both previous visits to their rivals’ new stadium. But we don’t take history into account when making our tips.
Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner up against a defence that Crystal Palace destroyed only a week ago are going to cause havoc on Sunday.
Best bet: Chelsea to win is 1.80 with Smarkets