Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
English Premier League, KO: 13:30 Feb 26, 2023, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR will be targeting top honours in a London derby for the second time in the space of seven days when they square off with Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
Antonio Conte's side returned to winning ways with a comfortable 2-0 win over West Ham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend, justifying my faith in the home team to pick up all three points.
That victory coupled with results elsewhere means Spurs have leapfrogged Newcastle into fourth spot as the race for Champions League qualification begins to heat up.
With the Magpies preoccupied with League Cup final business this weekend, Tottenham will look to tighten their grip on fourth spot with a victory over capital neighbours Chelsea.
The pressure increased on Blues boss Graham Potter as his side slipped to a shock 1-0 home defeat against struggling Southampton last Saturday.
That means the Stamford Bridge outfit – who are currently languishing in 10th place in the Premier League table – are without a win in their last five matches across all competitions.
Outright Betting
The bookies are finding it hard to separate the teams with Tottenham narrow favourites at 6/4 (Bet 365) while a share of the spoils pays 9/4 (Bet 365).
Chelsea, who have won just one of their last eight Premier League matches, make the short trip across the city as 17/10 (William Hill) outsiders.
Betting Angles
Given that neither of these sides have been a model of consistency this season, I'll swerve the 1×2 market and instead merge Under 5 Match Goals, Tottenham to Score and Both Teams to Receive a Card at 4/5 (Bet 365).
Thrills have been in short supply in Spurs' matches in recent weeks, with three of their last four league games featuring Under 2.5 strikes, not to mention the same bet would have paid out in each of their last five home matches in all competitions.
Goals have also been at a premium when Graham Potter's posse have been involved of late, with unders copping in each of their last six contests, with the blunt Blues failing to make the net bulge in five of those matches.
However, at the other end of the park, Chelsea have conceded at least one goal in each of their last three matches, and I fancy a Tottenham team – who are the third-top scorers in the top-flight this term – to have the tools to unlock their visitor's defence.
As such, I'll back the hosts to strike at least once in a game that generates less than five goals, but to conclude the selection, I'll also side with each team to pick up a booking.
Both sides are averaging over two yellow cards per-game in the Premier League this season, so one booking apiece doesn't look out of reach in a fixture that has been fuelled with bad blood in recent season's.
One player who is no stranger to referee's notebooks is Tottenham's Cristian Romero and he could be worth a small investment to pick up a card during this dust-up at 11/5 (Bet 365).
The World Cup winner has already received five yellows and one red in just 14 Premier League appearances this season and he looks a fair bet to that tally here given that he should be operating in the same vicinity as vibrant Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk.
This English Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will be played on Feb 26, 2023 and kick off at 13:30. Check below for our tipsters best Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
