Last season, Tottenham and Chelsea battled down to the last weeks of the season for the Premier League title. The Spurs finished a distant second in the end, but they certainly showed their worth and stated their intentions of challenging for the title again this season. This match against Chelsea could have huge ramifications down the line both in the championship tussle and perhaps in the UCL race as well.
At 11 a.m. ET, tune into NBC Sports Network for live television coverage of this EPL match on Sunday, August 20, 2017, at Wembley Stadium.
Opening Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Tottenham +100
Chelsea +260
Draw +250
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
It's hard to believe that Chelsea is a solid underdog to take three points against any team in the league right now. That said, after the Blues struggled so badly against Burnley in the opener, they're deserving of this fate. They're set at +260 on the moneyline, and it's no wonder why.
Tottenham is going to be full of emotion in this match, and the opportunity to already pull six clear of the Blues has to be encouraging. This is one the Spurs can't afford to lose if they're serious about a title chase, and that's why they're basically 50/50 choices to get all three points at a price of +100.
The total is relatively low at a flat 2.5.
Key Injuries
The biggest problem that Antonio Conte has in this match isn't his injuries. Sure, not having Pedro, Eden Hazard and Tiemoue Bakayoko is bad. The real problem, though, is that both Cesc Fabregas and Gary Cahill are suspended for this one after getting red carded against Burnley.
Tottenham's injury list is longer than you'd hope for this early in the season, but at least there aren't any ridiculous superstars in the bunch. Erik Lamela, Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier are all out for the foreseeable future.
Recent Form
There's plenty to discuss about Chelsea's 3-2 loss to Burnley at home to kick off the season. The Clarets were the better team for most of the match, though it's hard to say that Cahill really deserved a red card a quarter of an hour into the match. It's probably better to just ignore that result as a one-off disaster than anything else.
Tottenham was workmanlike in its opener against Newcastle. The Magpies were never really game for the Spurs, and goals from Dele Alli and Ben Davies were enough to see Mauricio Pochettino's team to three away points to kick off the campaign.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
There really isn't a single sign that is good here for Chelsea. This team is ridiculously thin this year, and missing out on five players from a squad that effectively only has 17 or so men who will be in the serious rotation this year is going to put Conte behind the 8-ball. Furthermore, this match is being played at Wembley Stadium, a place where Tottenham should have a tremendous home pitch advantage in what will surely be one of the more emotional matches of the season.
With the strong form Alli is in, you'd like to think that he and Harry Kane will have their say at some point in this one.
Yet we think the Chelsea defense is going to hold firm against all odds, even with Cahill out of the fold. Marcos Alonso, Cesar Azpilicueta and David Luiz are going to have their work cut out for them at the back, but history will tell you that this team is resilient.
Chelsea is going to pack it in at the back and try its best to hold Tottenham off. With a stronger showing from Thibaut Courtois than he had in the opener, the Blues could push this game the distance with no activity, and that would be a solid result for the visitors.
EPL Odds: Tottenham 0, Chelsea 0
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