Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea at Wembley Stadium this afternoon.
Pundit Mark Lawrenson has told BBC Sport that he thinks Tottenham Hotspur will beat Chelsea 2-0 at Wembley Stadium this afternoon.
Tottenham kicked off their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 win at Newcastle United last Sunday, with Dele Alli and Ben Davies scoring the goals to hand Spurs all three points after Jonjo Shelvey’s red cards.
Despite questions over Tottenham’s lack of signings and the departure of Kyle Walker – as well as the controversial comments of Danny Rose – Spurs got through their opening game of the season with no major shocks, as Mauricio Pochettino looks to launch another title challenge.
Last term, Tottenham were excellent at White Hart Lane, but must now play at their temporary home of Wembley Stadium this season as their new stadium is being built – and Chelsea are the first Premier League visitors.
The Blues may have won the Premier League title last season, but they opened their campaign with a shock 3-2 home defeat to Burnley, with both Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas receiving red cards in a dismal afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
In truth, it hasn’t been the best summer for Chelsea. Antonio Conte missed out on a number of transfer targets, Eden Hazard suffered an injury, and Diego Costa’s acrimonious exit shows no sign of being completed any time soon.
Last season, Chelsea lost 2-0 away at Tottenham, and whilst that game was at White Hart Lane, Mark Lawrenson doesn’t believe that there will be a change at Wembley Stadium, again predicting a 2-0 win for Spurs.
Speaking to BBC Sport, pundit Lawrenson noted that Chelsea could be in crisis with a defeat, and with so much going against Conte’s men right now, he feels confident that Spurs can pull out the win and claim all three points at Wembley this afternoon.
“This is Tottenham’s first Premier League game at Wembley but it will not be quite the test that people were expecting when the fixtures came out,” said Lawrenson. “I just think Chelsea are all over the place, as we saw against Burnley last week. They are without suspended duo Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas after their red cards against the Clarets and Eden Hazard is not ready to return from injury yet.”
“Pedro and Tiemoue Bakayoko are also injured and there is no end in sight to the Diego Costa saga either, with the striker still in Brazil. The situation with him is just absurd. So I am going to go for a Spurs win – if I am right, then Chelsea really are in crisis, aren’t they?” he added.
What is your prediction for Tottenham Hotspur versus Chelsea?
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