Spurs are arguably the best and certainly the hottest team in England at the moment. Eight wins in a row, ten games unbeaten in all competitions, whittling Chelsea’s once massive ten-point lead (and even thirteen, temporarily) down to just four points in the Premier League, Spurs are flying high and seem unstoppable.
More pertinently, they are the only side to consistently cause problems for Chelsea this season, both home and away. Coming off their worst performance of the season, Chelsea certainly have their work cut out for them.
Then again, tactics and form do go out the window to some extent in one-off elimination games such as this FA Cup semifinal. Pressure of course doesn’t, but anything can happen, as the cliche goes, especially if this affair descends into a battle of wills and passion and commitment and concentration.
For Chelsea, that all starts with the coach, who was strangely subdued on Sunday just like his team. Chelsea had injury problems last week, too, for just about the first time all season, with Courtois missing through a freak twisted ankle and Alonso out through illness, which apparently also affected at least three other players (Costa, Moses, Cahill).
Everyone should be back and healthy enough to go for this one.
Choose wisely.