Chelsea move from North London to South Yorkshire as a string of away games continues for the Blues with a visit to Brammal Lane to face Sheffield United on Sunday.
Beginning on Sunday, Chelsea will embark on a five day tour of South Yorkshire, as they take on two clubs separated by 12 miles of green belt, covered in snow. Before Chelsea face Barnsley in the FA Cup there is the small matter of facing Sheffield United in the premier league, with both sides having regained some form as of late.
Bramall Lane is one of those rare away fixtures where the biggest ever win for Chelsea was their maiden bow with a 3-0 victory back in January 1908 with George Hilsden getting on the scoresheet twice. Chelsea's most recent success came back in 2006 with goals from Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard.
Sheffield United have recently discovered their cutting edge, winning five of their past seven games in all competitions. They hold an advantage as they have had an extra two days preparation over Chelsea in which to prepare for this game.
It is often said that the easiest teams to face are those who have nothing to play for, not those who are kicking and fighting for survival as how Chris Wilder has described his team. Unbeaten Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel will want his players to match these qualities pound for pound, Chelsea's players will want to immediately erase the 3-0 defeat at Brammal Lane last summer. The 3-0 defeat was Chelsea's heaviest defeat of the calendar year and their first loss in 23 league games with the pride of Yorkshire.
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Faced with their hard-working opponents who have had an extra 48 hours rest, head coach Thomas Tuchel has already conceded that his starting 11 admits he may need to change in order to retain the same levels of both sharpness and physicality.
Jorginho's penalty meant that Thomas Tuchel became the first Chelsea coach to begin his career with three clean sheets since 2004, coincidentally succeeding the man he beat on Thursday, Jose Mourinho.
The back three from Tuchel has suited the personnel selected in the three games up to date, and higher up the field there were interesting elements which were designed to expose the weakness of Tottenham Hotspur. Both Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi were instrumental in Chelsea's complete domination in the first 45 minutes, often playing as two number 10s, with their being fluidity in the movement to a second striker or a wing position, ideal roles for both.
With the ever imposing Reece James restored to wing-back it proved a horrible first half for Tottenham's Ben Davies and Eric Dier but, as Tuchel pointed out, a killer instinct within the final third would have made for a more comfortable night.
Chelsea's players squandered possession to give Tottenham second half improvement, though the resilience of the defence and the structure of the team limited the cry of West London's faithful to two shots on target. This did however, mean there were only four accurate shots at Edouard Mendy's goal over the past three games, but the reliability of the keeper's reliability with his feet against Tottenham's high press also helped out.
The muscle injury sustained to Thiago Silva is likely to break up the three centre-backs, but the system has always favoured Andreas Christensen as he came on and gave a fine performance on Thursday.
This quick turnaround may provide opportunities for those who missed out on the excellent derby victory. These include Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech, Kurt Zouma and Tammy Abraham. The latter has scored four career goals in four encounters with Sheffield United (one of those for Aston Villa). Fellow striker Timo Werner has the opportunity to make it a double against the Blades after scoring in the 4-1 victory against them at Stamford Bridge in November.
That reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge confirmed the left foot of Hakim Ziyech as a weapon i Chelsea's armoury. With the Moroccan's crosses and set pieces carving out three great chances for the Blues with two of those being assists.
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