Paul Merson reckons Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea will grab a statement victory over Tottenham at the weekend and pile more pressure on Ange Postecoglou.
Despite the narrow 1-0 scoreline, Spurs were battered on Thursday night by Bournemouth with the Cherries missing chance after chance in a dominant performance.
After the match, Postecoglou had a heated exchange with a group of Tottenham supporters who were clearly unhappy by their side’s display at the Vitality Stadium.
The result saw Tottenham slip down to tenth in the Premier League table, while Chelsea’s impressive 5-1 victory at Southampton pushed them up to second in the standings, above third-placed Arsenal on goal difference.
Chelsea, who have been a bit of a surprise package this season, are now up there challenging for the Premier League title under Maresca and Merson expects their good form to continue on the road at Tottenham.
Arsenal legend Merson told Sportskeeda: “The only thing that worries me with Chelsea is that they gave away a couple of really good chances to Southampton, even when they were only playing against 10 men.
“The goalkeeper made a great save at 3-1. If that goes in, it becomes 3-2. I’m not nitpicking with Chelsea, it was still a great result. But that would be my worry about them.
“It does not take anything away from the fact that they won 5-1 while resting many of their key players. That is a masterstroke from Enzo Maresca. When the team sheet came in, I thought, ‘oh my god, what are you doing?
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“This is the Premier League, you can’t be taking any team lightly’. But those changes did not have a detrimental impact on Chelsea.
“I wouldn’t label Chelsea as genuine title contenders though. It’s hard to call them that. They have a good squad, probably the strongest in the Premier League. But they played Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool this season and took just one point. That is why they are not contenders yet.
“If you’re a fan, Tottenham away from home is Chelsea’s biggest game of the season. Chelsea lost in this fixture last season so this is a huge game. If they can win against Spurs, it will send a massive statement. I won’t label Tottenham as one of the ‘big boys’ in the league but they are a team that can beat a lot of teams and we’ve seen that already this season.
“If Chelsea secure a top-four finish and win a trophy, this would become a phenomenal season for them. Anything more than that would be incredible but unlikely.
“Ange Postecoglou wants Tottenham to be entertaining that’s how they try to play. Chelsea have better players in nearly every position and may have too much for Spurs to handle.Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Chelsea.”