Chelsea v Tottenham: Spurs to push Blues even amid Covid concerns

Dan Fitch said in his in-depth match preview that he believed the Lilywhites would score at Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham have drifted to 4.03/1 to win their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Chelsea on Wednesday as they wait to hear whether their squad has been hit by more Covid cases.

Manager Antonio Conte, who managed Chelsea from 2016-18 and returns to Stamford Bridge for first time tomorrow, said the north London club were monitoring a couple of potential cases.

Spurs were previously hit by a Covid outbreak in December which lead to the postponement of their Europa Conference League match against Lille and eventual elimination from the tournament.

Blues hit first rocky patch under Tuchel

The Blues are 2.111/10 to win the match, although they have drawn their last two in the Premier League, both of which were at the Bridge.

They are enduring the most difficult period of Thomas Tuchel’s time in charge. The manager held showdown talks with Romelu Lukaku after leaving him out of the squad for Sunday’s match against Liverpool.

The striker admitted in an interview that he was unhappy at Chelsea and hinted that he would like to return to Inter, where he won the Serie A title last season playing under Conte.

First leg draw wouldn’t be disaster for either side

You can get 3.55 on the draw on the Exchange and, even with Spurs potentially facing absences, that is a tempting price, especially as it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad result for either side.

Conte has lost just once as Spurs manager – an embarrassing 2-1 reverse to NS Mura in the Europa Conference League – so they are unbeaten in domestic competition under his stewardship.

Then there is his personal motivation. The Italian won the Premier League and FA Cup in his two years in west London before leaving after falling out with the owner.

He proved in Italy that he is a first class manager and there have been encouraging signs in recent weeks that Spurs are starting to click under his coaching.

Spurs reached the final of the Carabao Cup last season and Conte would love to take one step further this year and deliver their first silverware since 2008 in the process. If he knocks out his club on the way then all the better.

Dan Fitch said in his in-depth match preview that he believed the Lilywhites would score at Stamford Bridge.

A potential couple of Covid cases aren’t reason enough to doubt that.

Spurs haven’t drawn a blank since Conte’s first match – the 0-0 draw at Everton in November – while Chelsea have conceded in their last three.

Goals at both ends on Wednesday looks a decent bet and, with that in mind, you could back Yes in Both Teams to score along with Tottenham and Draw (double chance) for combined odds of 2.69 on Bet Builder.