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The 2nd Leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal will provide a chance for the fans to see two London rivals come up against each other once again. This game is of great importance to both teams as they will want to progress into the final and have a shot to win at least one cup since the Premier League is seemingly out of reach for both.
Tottenham will continue being without their talisman and main striker Harry Kane who they lost to injury a few weeks back. They will also be without Son who is away on international duty. This, however, will not deter them from trying to go for the win in this tie against their London rivals.
Chelsea, fresh from their 2-0 loss to Arsenal on Saturday will want to get back to winning ways in this League cup tie. Also, they will want to overturn the 1-0 loss to Tottenham that they suffered.
This game, you suspect will be full of fireworks and much action as it is never dull when these two team square up. There are obviously some few players that Chelsea will have to watch out for in that game, or else they may hurt them.
Tottenham, even without their main striker and his “backup” still possess enough firepower to worry the Chelsea defence. Mauricio Pochettino will want to come out with a win in this game and hopefully try to win the Cup. Most pundits have been on his case when he has been linked with top jobs since he hasn’t won any cup with Tottenham yet.
Here are some of the players that Chelsea will have to watch out for in their game against Tottenham.
Christian Eriksen
With both Kane and Son missing this game, Christian Eriksen is the next in line to provide thrust and a true attacking threat for Spurs. On his day, Eriksen is good enough to worry any team in the league even the ones with solid defences.
He will probe, run and try to make things happen for Tottenham and Chelsea will be stupid not to keep a close eye on him. On occasion he has shown before, he is capable of producing a moment of magic and scoring great goals. He will pull the Chelsea defenders all around and create chances for those around him.
Chelsea should have already taken note of this Danish talent due to their past encounters where he has given them torrid times.
Harry Winks
Harry winks is a player that came into the lineup due to injuries in the squad and hasn’t looked back since. His passing, positioning and tactical awareness have made him quite a value part of this Spurs team. He’s also high on confidence going into this game against Chelsea after scoring in their last game.
His position as the coordinator and holding midfielder is quite crucial that you can’t imagine the Tottenham team without him now. He’ll be the one tasked in matching the Chelsea midfielders and also intercepting their balls so they can’t get to the forward line.
Winks is developing into one of the most complete midfielders in the Premier League today and Chelsea will know that if they are to win they will have to minimize his influence in this game. Chelsea midfielders will want to be extra careful with the ball around him as he can nick them and instigate a fast counter.
Fernando Llorente
Llorente is the only senior striker in the Tottenham first team at the moment. Though he hasn't performed quite well, he will want to stamp his authority in this game and give Tottenham the edge.
Especially, after scoring an own goal against Fulham in his last game, Llorente will be much inspired to try and give his team the win to make up for that own-goal. Chelsea will be mad to not take this Spaniard striker seriously as he may well be the one that decides the game.
Being that he’s a physically imposing player, Llorente will bully the Chelsea defence any time he gets into their box. And he’s less mobile which will mean that Chelsea will have to man-mark him hence giving space to the likes of Eriksen to run from deep.
The runners from the midfield will feed off him and the wing backs will have someone to aim for with their crosses. As he’s powerful in the air, Chelsea will surely have a lot to contend with, with him on the field even though his scoring touch may have deserted him for some time now.
Kieran Trippier
Trippier is one of those modern-day full-backs that really enjoys getting forward and joining in the attack. He will be the one that is tasked to provide width and crosses from the right-hand side.
Kieran Trippier doesn’t usually need any invitation going forward and Chelsea will want to be careful to not leave spaces that he can run into. He’s also one of the players that will surely worry Chelsea from set pieces as he has a wicked right foot, especially around the box.
With Pochettino likely to play a three-man back line with wingbacks, Trippier will have a huge role to play in this game, especially since Llorente will be playing and will get at the end of most of his crosses. If Tottenham were to walk away from this game with a win then, Trippier will certainly have had a say in that.
He has also, over the last couple of seasons developed his defensive side of the game so Chelsea will not have it easy coming up against him in defensive areas.
Erik Lamela
Erik Lamela is just one of those attacking players that managers love to have in their teams. He works hard off the ball and with it; he’s a menace for opposition defenders.
He also is one player that Tottenham will look to when it comes to leading counters as he has the speed and engine. He also has a knack of scoring goals and Chelsea will definitely have to be wary about Tottenham’s number eleven.
And with Tottenham missing some of their key players, Erik Lamela will be one of those that they will look up to, to provide inspiration and creativity. You just have to have a feeling that this is one of the games that he’s relishing and will want to leave a mark on.
As one of the senior players expected to start this game, Lamela should not be forgotten by the Chelsea team when they pick out whom to pay attention to in this encounter.
