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Tottenham v Chelsea: 5 reasons Pochettino’s squad will top the Blues

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 22: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur in action during The Emirates FA Cup Semi-Final between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on April 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 22: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur in action during The Emirates FA Cup Semi-Final between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on April 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /
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NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St. James Park on August 13, 2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St. James Park on August 13, 2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /

3. Tottenham have Alli

Philippe Coutinho may be dominating the English press with news of a potential move to Barcelona, but it’s Dele Alli that is the country’s most exciting young attacking midfielder. Chelsea will have their hands full trying to deal with his movement and trickery all match long.

N’Golo Kante will be the Chelsea player tasked with dealing with Dele for most of the afternoon. The former Leicester City midfielder is arguably the league’s top defensive midfielder, but containing Dele isn’t a one man job.

His lack of a competent partner will be a huge issue today. Tiemoue Bakayoko is meant to be his full-time partner this year, but his fitness is very much in question heading into the match. If he can’t recover in time to make the start, Conte is going to be forced into providing Kante a less than ideal partner.

No matter who Chelsea line up in their midfield, they’ll have their hands full with Dele. Of course, if they focus too much energy on the precocious Englishman, they could get sliced open by Christian Eriksen.

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