On paper, this is exactly what everyone wanted. West Ham’s loss means Tottenham Hotspur is essentially a single point away from ending the relegation race. All that requires is a draw….at Stamford Bridge. Yes, this is about the last place on earth Spurs would want to be in this specific scenario, but when do things ever work out beneficially for this club?
Knowing that a result is enough to reach safety might be the jolt this club needs to finally perform against Chelsea. Furthermore, the Blues have been pretty poor in the league – and pretty poor at home – and likely have little motivation following the weekend’s FA Cup defeat. Those factors might go out the window in a derby, but hey, any little bit helps at this point.
Match Details
Date: Tuesday, May 19
Time: 3:15 pm ET, 8:15 pm UK
Location: Stamford Bridge, London
TV: NBCSN/Peacock (US), Sky Sports Premier League (UK)
Hmmm, I wonder how matches between these sides typically go…yes, Spurs have lost each of the past five contests, going back to the 2-0 win in February 2023 in North London and the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge earlier that season that featured a totally reasonable hair pull and a somewhat violent handshake. The last away win at this venue was back in 2017/18 with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli scoring. Cool cool cool.
Two Things to Watch
At home on the road
Roberto De Zerbi lost his opening match away to Sunderland, but then recorded wins at Wolves and Villa, while only managing draws in the two home fixtures. This is certainly consistent with the team’s performance across this season and may be what saves Tottenham on Tuesday. It does not need to be a pretty display, but the strong defensive approach through the midfield is clearly what is working for this side right now.
Meanwhile, Chelsea has been really bad at home lately. Four straight league losses were preceded by a pair of draws, with the last four contests resulting in a 1-8 scoreline. Spurs would probably take another low-scoring outcome, and if the visitors can find a way to sneak in a goal, expecting a draw at worst would be totally reasonable given the home side’s form.
Aside from the well-documented history of this derby, it would seem like the crowd will be especially hostile, relishing the chance to send Tottenham down. However, it is far less given that this mentality will transfer to the players themselves who may be quite checked out at this point of the year. Even if they really did want to put the nail into Spurs, is this squad really capable of doing so?
Penultimate Intangibles Update
The math is pretty simple now, which actually is a bit surprising, as I assumed the final day could bring a ton of stressful situations. Spurs could absolutely still bungle it, but at least the logic on how it gets to that point is pretty simple? West Ham will max out at 39 points — after it felt like it would take over 40 points just a couple weeks ago — with goal difference basically out of reach at this point. Even a draw against Leeds would not be enough to escape 18th place.
That means Tottenham has two chances to get a single point. Statistically this seems pretty reasonable, even knowing that Tuesday is unlikely to yield anything. It would definitely be annoying (and stressful) to have to wait until the weekend and see if Spurs can do just enough at home to survive, but at least we are not dependent on scoreboard watching.
But maybe, just maybe, Spurs go out and take care of business on Tuesday. It feels somewhat foolish to hope for that, but this Chelsea side is really nothing special. To ensure safety at Stamford Bridge of all places would be perhaps the lone bright spot on this cursed season; it is not deserved nor expected, but man would that be a great way to finally end this nightmare.