Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to overcome a 2-0 first-leg deficit when they take on Chelsea in the return leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur may have a mountain to climb here, but an impressive home form under new boss Antonio Conte gives them a reason to hope for a comeback. Since taking over the reins from Nuno Espirito Santo, the Italian has won seven of his eight competitive home fixtures in charge (D1), except for a Covid-19 induced forfeit against Rennes in the Europa Conference League. ‘Spurs’ have notably scored 2+ goals in each of those eight matches, averaging 2.5 goals per game. Particularly dangerous in the second half of play, they have found the net beyond the 70th minute in four of their last six home outings. By contrast, Tottenham have won none of their last four competitive home meetings with Chelsea (D1, L3), failing to get on the scoresheet in each of those three defeats.

On the other hand, Chelsea made light work of lower-league side Chesterfield in weekend FA Cup action, cruising to a comprehensive 5-1 home win to make it two straight victories in a row. Thomas Tuchel’s men have gone unbeaten in their last ten competitive games since losing 3-2 to West Ham United (W5, D5). Furthermore, following a run of three competitive road trips without winning (D2, L1), the ‘Blues’ have racked up back-to-back triumphs away from home, prevailing by a two-goal margin on each occasion. Plenty of action has highlighted Chelsea’s recent away fixtures, as four of their last six on the road have seen over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring. Indeed, the visitors have scored 2+ goals in six of their previous eight competitive travels, further boosting their confidence ahead of this trip.