Chelsea v Tottenham Carabou Cup 2nd leg | Vital Football

Chelsea v Tottenham Carabou Cup 2nd leg

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We have a wafer-thin advantage going into the return Semi-final leg following our 1-0 win in the first-leg.

The bookies are calling this as a 'done-deal' and the odds suggest it's not even worth our time turning up...

The Chav's are 11/17 odds on favourites, we're big odds at 67/13 (over 5-1) for the win and the draw is an enticing 16/5 (probably the best result I can see us getting).

You'd be a brave man to back us to win - and unquestionably have far more faith in the depth of our squad and Poch's capacity to pull a miracle rabbit out of his hat for this one.

So my view is about as pessimistic as the bookies on our chances, injuries and Son being away, Moura not yet having a game in him in Jan and we're looking thread bare.

As another Harry would say; we're down to 'bare-bones'.

Predicting the line up will depend on fitness news with rumours of Sanchez, Davies, Lamela and Winks not being 100%...

For those of you that aren't going to the game it is live on Skysport @ 7:45pm Thursday.

Many are desperate to see us progress into the final for a big 'home game' against Man City in the final, I'm not one of them and can't see anything other than a fairly comfortable home win for the hosts.

I pray I'm wrong, but I can see them starting Giroud (unless he's distracted by his forth speeding offence in as many months!) or Higuain - who has a great record of scoring against us:

Gonzalo Higuain's record against Spurs



Games – 3
Goals – 3
Assists – 1
Wins – 2
Draws – 1
Defeats – 0



IF as some say he's a done deal today or tomorrow....and can see him banging a few past us unless we can do a passable impression of the Spartans (who even they in the end saw their attackers get around the back of them to finish them off).....

Oh well, it was fun why it lasted.
 
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Ok Guys - what's your line-up and what tactical masterplans would you employ to get us through?
 
Can't see us going through and even if we do City in the final would not be pretty.

Gazza, Aurier, Toby, Sanchez, Jan, Rose, Winks, Dier, Eriksen, Moura, Lamela
 
I'd start with;

5-3-1-1

Gazza,

Aurier, Sanchez, Toby, Vert, Davies,

Trippier, Winks, Rose

Eriksen

Lorente.

I'd play five at the back, (so that we can double at the flanks when necessay - which maybe most of the match) three in midfield, Llorente as the lone target man -with Rose and Trippier pushing forward down the flanks when counters allow us to - with Eriksen looking for the knock downs / (play maker) from Llorente when we do get some possession in their box.

If Moura and Sissoko are fit, along with Dier and N'koudo, we can change to a 4-3-2 or a 4-3-3 as the game progresses and we have to manage them.....

Or, as I suspect we might have to for long periods, could just play 11 at the back..
 
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Pochettino stays positive despite Tottenham injury blows
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino (centre) is optimistic they can overcome injuries to Harry Kane and Dele Alli
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is "optimistic" his team can beat Chelsea to reach the League Cup final despite injuries to Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
The 46-year-old Argentine remains focused and upbeat even though Kane likely to be missing until March while Alli is being assessed after going off late in the 2-1 win over Fulham on Sunday with a hamstring problem.

Pochettino is also without South Korean forward Son Heung-min, who is away on Asian Cup duty.
Pressure is growing on the manager and his talented young Spurs side to translate attractive football into silverware -- a loss in the 2015 League Cup final and two FA Cup semi-final defeats have led to questions over their mental strength.
Spurs take a 1-0 lead into Thursday's second leg at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, who beat them in the League Cup final and the 2017 FA Cup semi-final.
"I am so optimistic," Pochettino was quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror. "We are going to prepare for Chelsea, try to find solutions. Try to be solid, aggressive, offensive and keep our identity.
"Of course it's going to be tough. I don't say we're going to win easily on Thursday. But we are going to try.
"That is the most important thing and I know that afterwards I will be happy because the squad we have is going to give their best to be in the final."
Pochettino, who is one of the frontrunners for the permanent job at Manchester United and has also been linked with Real Madrid, believes his players have learned to shake off adversity better.
"More problems, more positives, more optimism," he said. "In football, you cannot be affected by the things that happen.
"When the game finishes you can be disappointed and all the emotion arrives, but during the game the most important thing is that the team isn’t affected by that situation."
 
It will be interesting to see which Chelsea team turns up.The 'We hate Spurs team' or the 'we can't be ar--d to play for this bloke team'.Let's hope it's the latter.
 
Gazza

Jan Toby sanchez

Serge Rose

Winks Dier Christian

Moura Training cone Lamela


We are getting smashed - our only hope is the 0-0

Honestly - look at the state of the CM/Forward players!!

Llorente was so bad at Fulham I would consider anyone else
 
Hate saying this but I would play VERY defensive on this...hit them on counter.

Totally not our style, but with all the injuries I would have no issues with us playing for a scoreless draw...or if we are lucky we get a lead and try to hang on.
 
My line-up would be

Lloris
Toby, Sanchez, Vertonghen
Aurier, Dier, Winks, Rose
Eriksen
Sterling, N'Koudou or Moura
Subs: Gazza, Davies, Foyth, Skipp, Moura, Lamela, Llorente

Agree about having the 5 defenders, but we must have a tactic to push Alonso back and stop Hazard in that left channel. We can't play flat, but must be aware of the space in behind in the wide areas.

We also need Eriksen restored to that free role where he can disrupt Jorginho and release the pace of Sterling, N'Koudou and the wing-backs on the counter. He's intuitive enough know when to dig in and when to pull the team further forward.

The front 2 need to just press, press, press for 60-70 mins and don't worry about having 90 mins in them. We'll manage that from the bench with guys like Lamela, Moura and Llorente. They need to play in the channel between full-back and centre half and stop them passing it around.

Finally, we have to get into the refs head early. We are simply awful at it in these big games. Make the most of every bad tackle, get them booked and constantly break up their rhythm, just like teams do to us.
 
Chelsea won't be fearing us and that could either fuel them or cause them to be complacent. Either way, it needs to be a defensive master-class that we are more than capable of doing.

Gazza
Aurier - Toby - Sanchez - Jan - Davies
Eriksen - Dier - Winks
Lamela - Sterling - Lucas

Why not give Sterling a chance imo. Unknown element, has pace that would suit a counter-attacking game-plan and will have the hunger to prove himself. He's also known for being a good team player in the youth teams. Llorente has a role to play, but later on.
 
Matic said:
Chelsea won't be fearing us and that could either fuel them or cause them to be complacent. Either way, it needs to be a defensive master-class that we are more than capable of doing.

Gazza
Aurier - Toby - Sanchez - Jan - Davies
Eriksen - Dier - Winks
Lamela - Sterling - Lucas

Why not give Sterling a chance imo. Unknown element, has pace that would suit a counter-attacking game-plan and will have the hunger to prove himself. He's also known for being a good team player in the youth teams. Llorente has a role to play, but later on.
Click to expand...

Or stick Lucas centrally and KGN on the left.
 
Bloomberg's Tom Keene is a Tottenham supporter.

George Osborne...Chelsea.
 
spurdon said:
Or stick Lucas centrally and KGN on the left.
Click to expand...

I must be the only person who doesnt think Lucas suits being a false 9. Dele just about suits it, Lamela at a push but you need to give Lucas space to run into and I don't think he'll get that centrally.
 
Matic said:
I must be the only person who doesnt think Lucas suits being a false 9. Dele just about suits it, Lamela at a push but you need to give Lucas space to run into and I don't think he'll get that centrally.
Click to expand...

Agreed. He needs to be a ghost otherwise he gets overpowered.
 
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