CHELSEA 2 SPURS 0
Have Chelsea got the League in the bag? Will Spurs ever get it together? Email alan.tyers@telegraph.co.uk with your views
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24 mins: Annoying because Lloris has been such a rock so far this season.
GOAL! Oh no, that is suicidal. Lloris takes a goalkick and gives it straight to the unmarked Hazard 35 yards from goal. He plays it quickly to Oscar, who slips it to Drogba, who absolutely powers the ball into the goal. That's a terrible blow for Spurs, but they only have themselves to blame. CHELSEA2 TOTTENHAM 0 (Drogba 22)
21 mins: Bentaleb wastes a decent position with a stupid shot from 40 yards.
20 mins: That first goal was coming, Spurs had been under huge pressure.
GOAL! And the pressure eventually tells. Wonderful one-two between Hazard and Drogba. EH spins away from Lennon, gives it to the Drog and bursts into the box, that simple beautiful little move taking three Spurs defenders out of the game. Hazard smashes it at the goal and, maybe Lloris might have done a bit better at the near post, but it was a strong shot and that's one-nil. CHELSEA 1 TOTTENHAM 0 (Hazard 18)
18 mins: Spurs under the pump now though, they cannot clear, and Lloris has to make a desperate punch clear from an Azpi cross.
17 mins: Great move by Chelsea, Willian haring all over the place, he plays it into Drogba, who lays it up for Fabregas. Cesc tries to curl it into the corner but Lloris reads that like a Beano.
15 mins: One worried about Chiriches but he has kept Hazard quiet so far.
13 mins: Ball played into the box for Ivanovic and Lloris has to be on his toes to rush out and deny him.
12 mins: Kane with a powerful solo run, he nicks it off Cahill, and he drives into the watch and lashed a shot just wide.
11 mins: Fazio has bundled Hazard over and it's surprising that the ref gives nothing. Spurs doing very well, indeed have been the better side.
10 mins: Chelsea attack, Hazard loses it, Spurs break well, again with Eirkssen and he's within a whisker of playing Kane through.
8 mins: Lovely skills from Erikssen, shimmies past his man, plays it into Mason who feeds it out to Lennon for an excellent cross. Kane with the header! Really good one as well, and it smacks against the angle of post and bar.
6 mins: Cahill comes out of it the worse. Courtois resumes after quite a long delay.
5 mins: Kane's won a free down the left. Lamela plays it in, it's half cleared. Good ball in Chiriches! Vertonghen gets up for it and there's a clash of heads between he and Gary Cahill
3 mins: Lennon down the right, facing off against Azpilicueta, and he's won a corner. Short corner begats another corner. Drogba heads that clear.
1 mins: Early alarms for Spurs as Fabregas plays it into the feet of Drogba, who is muscled off it by Vertonghen.
19.45 There's a minute's applause for former Chelsea manager John Neal
19.42 And here are Chelsea.
19.40 Here are your Spurs.
19.30 What's the first word that comes to mind when you say "Tottenham at Stamford Bridge...?"
YES! It's Hoodoo. And here is Jim White on that very topic.
Gary Lineker was the last man to do it. On Feb 10, 1990, with less than two minutes remaining in the match between Chelsea and his Tottenham Hotspur, the now occasionally hirsute television anchor got hold of a Nayim cross to score the winner in a 2-1 victory. If he thought that was the start of something big, he was wrong. Since then, Spurs have not managed a single win at the home of their crosstown rivals. In league and cup, across 27 matches, they have come away victory-free.
However, Mauricio Pochettino insisted on Tuesday night that the roll call of disappointment was of no concern to him as he took his team to face Jose Mourinho’s table-topping side in west London on Wednesday night.
“I don’t read about the record,” the Tottenham head coach said. “For us it is important to feel the same mentality we showed against Everton and forget the past. We do not need to let the past affect our present. We know that Chelsea are a very strong squad, they are an unbelievable team.”
Mauricio Pochettino plays down Spurs's Chelsea hoodoo
19.20 Talking of pragmatists, here's Jose Mourinho.
Jose Mourinho has revealed why he is convinced that Chelsea cannot remain unbeaten this season - because he will not tolerate them playing for a draw.
Mourinho has repeatedly written off his side's chances of emulating Arsenal's 'Invincibles' by winning the Premier League title without losing a match.
The Chelsea manager has now admitted that one of the main reasons was his refusal to accept anything other than 100 per cent commitment to victory from his players, even if that meant them risking a draw becoming a defeat.
19.10 Excellent piece about Mauricio Pochettino here from Tom Edwards.
One of the main criticisms aimed at Mauricio Pochettino when he was in charge at Southampton was that he wasn't adaptable enough. He had only one way of playing: Plan A - the Marcelo Bielsa-inspired high pressing game - or nothing. But this season he's been quietly proving his critics wrong.
Tottenham Hotspur's trip to the Emirates in September was the first example of a more pragmatic Poch introducing a Plan B - shunning the high defensive line in favour of sitting deep and guarding resolutely against the waves of Arsenal attack. Spurs ended up with a draw, but produced enough decent counter attacks to have scraped a win on another day.
Pochettino has, of course, tried to implement a high-pressing style in other games, but he's had mixed results. Sergio Aguero memorably burst through Tottenham's lines time and again as City thumped Spurs at the Etihad, and the lilywhites even looked shaky against less distinguished opposition. The defensive pairing of Kaboul and Vertonghen were particularly poor against Aston Villa before Benteke's red card turned the game on its head.
18.55 Evening. Big, big game in London. Can Spurs cause an upset? I have team news. Sweet, sweet team news for anyone who wants to see how that Chiriches character will get on as a full-back.
Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Fabregas, Matic, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Drogba. Subs: Cech, Luis, Zouma, Mikel, Schurrle, Salah, Remy.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Chiriches, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies, Mason, Bentaleb, Lamela, Eriksen, Lennon, Kane. Subs: Kaboul, Paulinho, Soldado, Vorm, Dier, Naughton, Chadli.
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)
John Mc Enerney writes:
Evening Alan, CFC are looking good but the league is far from over, a few injuries could derail their season. Imagine Cesc or Costa are out for 2 months they'll find if tough going. Jose needs another top quality striker to cover Costa. I'm sure they'll have a lean spell & MCFC will close the gap but they are on fire at the moment. Big win needed tonight THFC are a dangerous side but CFC have too much for them! CFC to win by 2.
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Alan Tyers is on liveblog duty at 6.30pm. Read Steven Griffiths' preview of the match while you are waiting.
Chelsea defender Gary Cahill claims his side's superior mental strength could be the decisive factor in the Premier League title race.
Jose Mourinho's team host London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday looking to cement their lead at the top of the table after extending their unbeaten run to 20 matches in all competitions with a goalless draw at Sunderland at the weekend.
That stalemate at the Stadium of Light marked the first time Chelsea had failed to score this season and only the third time they had failed to take all three points from a league fixture in the current campaign.
But, rather than dwell on those rare negatives, England international Cahill took heart from the way Chelsea went toe to toe with fired-up Sunderland in a bruising battle.
The Blues refused to be intimidated by Sunderland's aggressive approach and Cahill believes that solidity and togetherness is a vast improvement on last season, when they occasionally tossed away points against inferior but committed opponents.
"I think we are a different side to last year, not just personnel, but mentally I think we are different," Cahill said.
"They made it a scrap, but we matched that and managed to play our football as well.
"When teams sit back and get back in that shape, it's very tough. We saw that last year and this was no different.
"But in these sorts of games, if you don't get the breakthrough, it's important we don't lose the game, and it's a point away from home."
There was little chance of Chelsea being intimidated by Sunderland's barrage with feisty Spain striker Diego Costa always willing to fight fire with fire.
Costa was in typically combative mood as he was booked for elbowing Wes Brown after earlier avoiding a caution following his kick at John O'Shea.
However, as a result of his fifth yellow card of the season, Costa is suspended against Tottenham, with Didier Drogba and Loic Remy in contention to replace Chelsea's leading scorer.
"We don't cry about injured or suspended players. He is suspended so he can rest and be ready for Newcastle at the weekend," Mourinho said.
"We will use Remy and Drogba against Tottenham. They will have the opportunity to start the game."
History suggests Chelsea should have few problems maintaining or improving on their healthy six-point advantage over second placed Manchester City.
Tottenham have failed to win on any of their previous 27 visits to the Bridge in all competitions - a barren run stretching back to Gary Lineker's late winner in west London in February 1990.
But Mauricio Pochettino's team will make the short trip across the English capital buoyed by their 2-1 win over Everton.
With a series of recent disappointing home results having sparked an angry response from the White Hart Lane faithful, Tottenham could have crumbled when Kevin Mirallas put Everton ahead on Sunday.
But Christian Eriksen and Roberto Soldado scored to give Spurs a much-needed win - their third in a row in all competitions - and Kane is confident the morale-boosting result, combined with the absence of Costa, gives his side a good chance of finally ending their dismal record at the Bridge.
"We're coming off three wins in a row now in all competitions, so we'll take that confidence into the game on Wednesday," Kane said.
"We're looking to get the result. Obviously Chelsea are going to be trying to do the same at home, but they are missing their main man up front. So they have to change a few things, and we're feeling good.
"The Chelsea game is not the be-all or end-all, but it would add to the great momentum we have at the moment if we could beat them.
"That is what we want to do and we will give ourselves the best possible chance."
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