Tim Sherwood insists he is undaunted by Tottenham’s dire record at Stamford Bridge and is eager for his side to take the game to Chelsea when the two sides meet on Saturday. Tottenham have not beaten Chelsea at the home of their London rivals since 1990 and go into their latest visit 10 points and four places adrift of Mourinho’s Premier League leaders. But Sherwood believes his players will not be inhibited either by the club’s poor record or the current strength of their opponents.
“It’s always a tough game but we can’t worry about what has happened at the Bridge in the past, we have to be positive,” he said, according to Tottenham’s official website. “We respect they have technically-gifted players and world-class players in certain areas and we have to stop them playing, then hopefully we can impose ourselves on them.
“We’ll now go there with no fear, we’ll play with freedom and see what happens.”
Tottenham sit four points back of fourth-place Manchester City, although with Manuel Pellegrini’s side having two games in hand, there realistic targets to catch for a Champions League place will be Arsenal and Liverpool, who are both six points adrift. While Sherwood claims there is no pressure for his side on Saturday, he will know that Spurs can afford few slipups in the remaining 10 matches if they are to claim fourth spot and, if speculation is to be believed, save his job.
Not only are Tottenham looking to overturn their own poor record at Stamford Bridge, they will also have to snap Mourinho’s unbeaten home record at Chelsea that could go to 75 games on Saturday. Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Mourinho was at a loss to explain Chelsea’s dominance over Tottenham and claims he is taking nothing for granted.
“I don't know,' he said, according to Chelsea’s official website. “Maybe it's a coincidence because Tottenham are always a good team and a difficult opponent. I don't remember in my previous years having an easy match against Tottenham, so it's a very difficult game.
“I just say we have to try to win the next match, it doesn't matter about the opponent, stadium or competition. Nothing is hidden, tomorrow we want to try to win the game, maybe we won't win but the objective is that we are going to try to win.”
Mourinho confirmed that Eden Hazard will be fit for the match, despite having picked up a knock moments after coming on in Belgium’s friendly with Ivory Coast in midweek. Elsewhere, Chelsea have not been so fortunate during international week. David Luiz suffered a reoccurrence of his groin injury playing in Brazil’s victory over South Africa. Although Ashley Cole got some much-needed minutes in England’s win over Denmark, he subsequently suffered a ligament injury in training with Chelsea.
Tottenham’s defense is set to be strengthened by the return from injury of Younes Kaboul and Kyle Walker. However, Danny Rose, Vlad Chiriches, Erik Lamela and Etienne Capoue remain sidelined, while Christian Eriksen and Ezekiel Fryers are set to face late fitness tests.
Where to watch: The Barclays Premier League clash will kick off at 12.30 p.m. ET. Coverage will be provided by NBCSN, with a live stream available on NBC Sports Live Extra.
Chelsea Vs. Tottenham: Live Stream Info, TV Channel And Preview
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