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Could this London derby prove to be a transformative fixture for Jose Mourinho’s side, or will Spurs extend their considerable lead in the league?
Guinness Made of Black Match of the Weekend: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea
Where: White Hart Lane, London
When: 12.00 (GMT), Sunday, November 29
The current dynamic between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea is strange and unfamiliar heading into the London derby between the pair on Sunday.
Consider this, Jose Mourinho’s side are 10 points behind Spurs in the league standing after 13 matches.
Assuming that Chelsea are out of the race for the title—they have half as many points as leaders Leicester City—one would assume that the Blues’ Premier League target for the rest of the campaign must surely be to return to the Champions League.
A third of the campaign down, they are 12 points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, and only five points clear of the relegation zone and 18th-placed Sunderland.
At the beginning of the campaign, few—if any—would have expected that Arsenal or Tottenham could have beaten Chelsea in a straight race for points.
However, with a third of the year down, it’s becoming harder and harder to predict how things will unravel.
Sure, Chelsea would probably beat their North London rivals in a straight foot race, but what about with a 10-point handicap? What about with a 12-point handicap?
This, ultimately, is the key narrative ahead of Sunday’s London derby.
Other things will steal the attention as well—Mourinho’s precarious job situation, John Terry’s injury absence, Harry Kane’s re-emergence, the animosity among fans that have hated each other for decades and decades—but the true fascination is the unfamiliar dynamic between these two and how it might be extended on Sunday.
Tottenham have lost only one league match all season, and that came on the opening day when an uninspired Manchester United secured three points following a Kyle Walker own goal. Since then, they have found their top gear, and their 4-1 demolition of West Ham United—another capital foe—last weekend, will have made ominous viewing for Mourinho.
Chelsea, by contrast, have lost seven matches—only the bottom three have lost more—and the form guide suggests that Spurs will extend their points-advantage over Chelsea to 13 points.
However, it is often upon fixtures like this—when chasms appear insurmountable—that entire seasons and fortunes can pivot.
Chelsea have won their last two—albeit against limited opponents—but surely have the experience and the quality to secure a season-transforming result at White Hart Lane.
A ten-point gap could easily become 13 points…but knowing Mourinho, don’t be surprised to see the Blues rein the Lilywhites in and end the weekend only seven points behind Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
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