From the media reaction to Chelsea’s 0-0 draw at Sunderland on Saturday you would think that Jose Mourinho’s side were in crisis. Manchester City closed the gap to six points by winning at Southampton on Sunday while Arsenal and Man United are 11 and 13 points adrift respectively.
It certainly was not a vintage Chelsea performance at the Stadium Of Light, perhaps suffering a little from their fantastic 5-0 win in Germany in midweek. Perhaps more significant was the booking picked up by leading scorer Diego Costa, ruling him out of the Spurs clash on Wednesday night due to suspension.
His place is likely to be taken by Didier Drogba who has looked sharper with each appearance this season. Spurs may feel some relief that Costa is not present but Drogba has a good record against them and is still a fearsome opponent. Eden Hazard and Willian have been running rings around most defences this season but have not been converting a high percentage of chances. This could be the time for Hazard to return to goal scoring ways in another home victory.
Sunderland battled for 90 minutes and fully deserved their point on Saturday. They now have to do the same with Champions Man City the visitors. The glimmer of hope for Sunderland is the news that Kompany is out, leaving a makeshift defence. City have been leaning heavily on Sergio Aguero so far this season but they showed at St Mary’s that they have plenty of other players capable of scoring, Frank Lampard included. I cannot see the Black Cats holding out here, despite having beaten City 1-0 in their last four clashes here.
Southampton’s bubble appears to have burst with the onset of a run of tough fixtures. The warning signs were clear at Villa Park on Monday where they had to fight hard for a point before suffering a 3-0 loss at home to City. A trip to the Emirates Stadium could see a second consecutive loss, although they did beat a sub-standard Arsenal side here in the League Cup. Olivier Giroud should be sharper for his 80 minutes at West Brom on Saturday and he can get his name on the score-sheet in a home win.
The final game on Wednesday should result in three points for Everton against struggling Hull City. The Tigers have looked pretty toothless of late while Everton nearly snatched a point at White Hart Lane.
Eden Hazard to score and Chelsea win @9-4 Bwin
Sergio Aguero to score and Man City win @7-5 Betfred
Olivier Giroud to score and Arsenal win @11-4 Bwin
