Tottenham secured arguably the standout result of the opening weekend, blowing Southampton away 4-1 and justifying why many are predicting that they will be the team most likely to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title this season.
Those predictions come on the back of a heavy summer of investment where the club backed Antonio Conte with over £90million to land key summer targets.
He’s now assembled a side who look ready to compete not only domestically but in Europe too with the club again back in the Champions League after two-year hiatus.
This weekend though, Conte’s new look Spurs face their first big test of the campaign as they take on London rivals Chelsea. The Blues boast a strong historical record against their North London neighbours, avoiding defeat in each of the last seven head-to-head meetings.
Spurs haven’t actually managed to score in their last three visits to Stamford Bridge and perhaps more ominously, couldn’t win a single London derby away from home in the league last term (D1, L4). That included a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in January.
Securing a win this weekend would represent a real statement of intent and lay down a marker to the league rivals, however, achieving the same will be no easy feat. Thomas Tuchel’s men finished ‘best of the rest’ last season, and have too spent heavily in the market, splurging over £160m on players such as Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella.
They navigated through a tough away opener at Goodison Park to secure a slender 1-0 win over Everton, and there’s every chance this weekend’s clash with Spurs could be another contest settled by very small margins.
One of the ways it could be settled Spurs’ way could come down to their ability to force turnovers in dangerous areas. Tottenham on the surface don’t look to be a highly aggressive pressing side – based on PPDA only four Premier League sides pressed less aggressively high up the pitch last season.
(
Getty Images)
However, they’re tough to play through and have extremely hard-working forwards like Harry Kane and Son Heung-min who work cohesively to set traps where opposition players are exploited on the ball.
Conte added another one of those profiles to his front like this summer in the form of Richarlison, and having served a one-match ban last weekend, the former Everton man is expected to make his Spurs debut.
While dangerous on the ball and in the penalty area, the Brazilian’s work ethic is one of his most appealing traits. Last season, only four players made more attacking pressures inside the final third than the forward (272).
For Everton, the same was hugely useful in not only slowing down opposition attacks, but also in often forcing turnovers and potential goalscoring opportunities, and his individual quality meant he could regularly turn these into crucial goals.
That’s exactly what Richarlison did when he last came up against Chelsea back in May.
He proved a menace all afternoon and early in the second half, he got his reward when he drove at Cesar Azpilicueta, nipping the ball away from him and then smartly finishing past Edouard Mendy to secure a crucial three points for the Toffees.
We know Chelsea like to dominate the ball and build from the back under Tuchel, therefore similar opportunities are sure to arise again.
If Richarlison or one of his Spurs teammates can take advantage, then the same could well be decisive in terms of landing what would be a marquee victory.
