Chelsea take on Tottenham today in a huge game which will go a long way towards defining how the season of each team will be perceived, with more than a third of the Premier League campaign played.
Punters gambling in an online casino trying to figure out who will finish higher would have had the two sides at similar odds to make the top 4 this season, but the sides have already diverged significantly since those preseason predictions were made.
After a tough summer, Chelsea have come out of the blocks super quickly and have racked up 28 points from 14 games to put themselves in second. Win tonight and they’ll be just 4 points off top spot.
Four wins and two draws in the last 6 are a sure sign of a team in form, and Enzo Maresca will fancy his team’s chances today, even playing an away game at their old rivals.
Tottenham have not had the same sort of start – they’ve got 20 points from 14 games, and have lost 3 and won 2 of their last 6. That included a draw with Fulham, defeats to Bournemouth and Ipswich – but also potent wins over Manchester City (4-0) and Aston Villa (4-1).
If Chelsea have surprised everyone with their consistency and fast start, Spurs have surprised nobody by being good at times and bad at other under Ange Postegolou.
The coach feels like he’s under real pressure now – big wins over top sides are quickly cancelled out by disappointing losses like the one they suffered in midweek.
It would be going too far to say that Chelsea can beat the Tottenham coach out of a job, but this certainly feels like a definitive game for him. Win and the scrappy losses are forgotten – lose and the wins over City and Villa are pretty meaningless as his team slip towards the lower end of the table.
Maresca has no such worries – he’s so far ahead of expectations that even a loss at Tottenham can’t hurt him now. But his CV is still missing a real statement win (beating a crumbling Aston Villa last weekend is his high water mark so far).
The scenes at full time in midweek saw the coach serenaded by away fans at Southampton. It felt like a watershed moment for Maresca, who now has his supporters’ affections and full backing.
A convincing win at White Hart Lane today would make those scenes look tame, and would really feel like the start of something special.