Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea – EPL, February 4, 2021

It’s an all London affair to round things off on matchday 22 in the English Premier League. Chelsea will make the short trip across the capital to take on Spurs.

Both sides sit just outside the top four at the moment, but it is the Blues that will be expecting big things thanks to their new manager.

The unavailability of Harry Kane has obviously affected the way that bookmakers are pricing Tottenham games now – and BetOnline makes Chelsea favorites to come away with north London with all three points on Thursday. The arrival of Thomas Tuchel might also be playing a big part in that too.

There were a number of predictions as to how Jose Mourinho would deal without Harry Kane up front against Brighton at the weekend. But none of the attacking players picked to start that game had any real effect – and now the Spurs boss will have to have another rethink for this big game against Chelsea.

Gareth Bale failed to shine on only his second start of the season, while Heung-min Son and Steven Bergwjin were just as invisible. Vinicius added little when he came on in the second half, and Tottenham will have to be on top of its game to stop Chelsea from controlling the game on Thursday.

There seems far more hope for Chelsea now. Thomas Tuchel has only been in the manager’s job for a week, but his ideas for how the team should play are already having an effect. Chelsea looked very good against Burnley at the weekend – and thoroughly deserved the 2-0 win.

Tuchel’s arrival suggested that things might get better for Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, but it also looks like Callum Hudson-Odoi will benefit from the German coach’s insight. It seemed as though he might even be allowed to leave the club last season but could now play a big part in its push for a Champions League spot.

Thomas Tuchel has come into the Chelsea job full of ideas of how his team should play – and who should be a part of it. After an almost absence of tactics with Frank Lampard, Chelsea could now become one of the more dangerous teams in the EPL. Spurs would still normally be able to give the Blues a game but look a far more limited team without Harry Kane. An away win now looks the most likely outcome here.