Chelsea boss Frank Lampard will lock horns with former manager Jose Mourinho when the Blues welcome high-flying Tottenham Hotspur to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Lampard was a key pillar in Mourinho’s title-winning teams during a successful spell at Chelsea in the mid-2000s. He is now striving to return the club to the summit of English football, but Mourinho has other ideas.
His Spurs side have been superb this season, and a 2-0 victory over Man City last weekend catapulted them to the top of the table. Chelsea are just a couple of points behind after winning their last three matches, so this will be a massive six-pointer.
Clash of the Title Contenders
The Premier League title race looks wide open this season. Champions Liverpool are in fine form, but long-term injuries to Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez could derail their title defence, while Man City have won just three of their opening eight games.
That leaves the door open for Chelsea and Tottenham to battle for glory. Both managers will therefore be desperate to win this game, and they have not exactly seen eye-to-eye since Lampard took the Chelsea job, so it promises to be a fiery clash.
These teams met twice last season, and Lampard came out on top on both occasions. He led Chelsea to a 2-0 victory in North London, and then they beat Spurs 2-1 in February. Mourinho will be determined to exact revenge.
A Wealth of Attacking Talent
Chelsea should be in better shape for this game, as their Champions League clash with Rennes took place on Tuesday night.
Tottenham have to face Ludogorets in the Europa League on Thursday, so fatigue could be an issue. However, you would expect Mourinho to rest most of his key players for that game in order to keep them fresh for the Chelsea game.
Spurs have been devastating in attack, thanks largely to the form of Harry Kane and Son Heun-Min, but they have conceded a goal per game.
Chelsea have been even better going forwards – they have the best attacking record in the Premier League – but they have also conceded 10 goals in nine games thus far.
You would therefore expect both teams to get on the score sheet in this game. Under 4.5 goals has paid off in the past 11 meetings between them, so that would be a good addition to the bet.
Tip: Both teams to score and under 4.5 goals
Stake: One unit
