Chelsea have arguably not been the same team since Spurs thrashed them 5-3 on New Years day last season. Jose Mourinho’s team had thrilled supporters in the first half of last season but immediately reverted to Mourinho’s more accustomed conservative philosophy to see out the Premier League title.
The Blues triumphed in the League Cup final the next time they would meet, but this is the first league encounter since that mauling and nothing has gone right for Mourinho, with Chelsea languishing 12 points of Spurs in fifth and in a real battle to even finish in the top four this season.
While Chelsea have struggled, Spurs have gone from strength to strength under Mauricio Pochettino and they are currently on the longest undefeated streak of any team in the division (12) having not lost since the opening day of the season. Unsurprisingly, it is almost complete domination in the combined XI, but which sole Chelsea player sneaks into the team?
Willian has been Chelsea’s best player in all competitions this season, but it is actually Eden Hazard who finds a place in the team thanks to a recent resurgence. The Belgium international was voted the PFA Player of the Year last season, but has so far struggled to reproduce the kind of performances that blew away the rest of the league this time last season.
In fact, Hazard is still without a Premier League goal this season, although he came close only for the dubious goal panel to strike his effort down as an own goal against Arsenal. Despite there being a notable drop his performances this season, he one of the league’s most revered dribblers. Indeed, only Alexis Sanchez and Riyad Mahrez have completed as many dribbles in the Premier League this season (all 44).
It is worth noting that at this stage last season, Hazard only had one assist and four goals to his name and while he has only registered two assists this term, he is actually requiring fewer minutes to create a chance for his teammate this season (28.5 mins) than he required last season (33.8 mins). It would be harsh to foot all the blame at the shoes of Hazard, when it is arguably those around him that should shoulder most of it, like Diego Costa.
