The most recent edition of the data published on Chelsea’s official website before every game makes for jubilant reading for supporters.
On Sunday, Tottenham will host Chelsea. There are many laughably biased statistics concerning the history of the match, especially in the modern century.
To mention a few, Chelsea has beaten Spurs in the Premier League more times than any other team (33) and Spurs has allowed more Premier League goals to Chelsea (110) than any other side.
In the near future, Chelsea will attempt to become the first team ever to win four straight-away League games in north London. Chelsea is unbeaten against their rivals in nine games, has a 100% record from three visits to Spurs’ new stadium, and is undefeated in nine meetings overall.
A manager would undoubtedly find solace in the sheer weight of this history, but for Graham Potter—who is already under pressure—the fact that Chelsea has won the last two meetings between the two teams simply raises the stakes uncomfortably. Losing to Spurs is one of the terrible losses for the Blues.
In 61 encounters since the Premier League began, Chelsea has only lost seven times. Two of those defeats occurred under the leadership of current Spurs head coach Antonio Conte, who will not be present due to his ongoing recovery from surgery.
A loss to Spurs may be the breaking point for the supporters still supporting Potter (and they are undoubtedly in the minority at this point), providing conclusive proof that the head coach is not the right fit for the team.
Yet the club’s owners are still committed to supporting Potter, and while they would be less upset by a second loss, they would still be. If Chelsea wins, the distance between them and fourth-placed Spurs would shrink to eight points, giving them a tiny chance to make a late push for a Champions League spot, which is unquestionably crucial considering the club’s extensive investment.
Yet even if Chelsea’s collection of expensively assembled superstars were to suddenly gel, a 14-point deficit at this juncture in the season would undoubtedly be insurmountable. Hence, a setback could feel like a knockout blow.
Although Potter may argue that there is no worse team to lose to than Spurs, there is no greater opponent for an out-of-sorts Chelsea.
The co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali will be impacted by the intensity of outside noise, according to Gus Poyet, one of the few players to successfully bridge the gap between Chelsea and Spurs. He believes Potter needs “a remarkable win” to relieve the pressure on him.
“You need to win when you’re with a club [that] has invested that much money,” Poyet added. I think Graham Potter is a great coach, and I strongly support him. I would really like for him to have as much time as possible, but we are at the owner’s mercy.
“With the advent of social media, I firmly feel that the owners, sporting directors, and employees of the teams are under immense pressure from everything that is reported in the media.
“The owners must respond when there is really, really too much criticism around the club, and that is an issue.
It’s becoming increasingly crucial to have a special victory at this point. A great victory would be in the London derby or in a few weeks against [Borussia] Dortmund. They require it. That will help to settle things down.
The fans are going berserk, Poyet noted on the podcast The Tottenham Way. Everyone is talking about how awful Chelsea is and how awful the coach is.
We all know that because owners don’t desire it, it causes them to respond. It’s not pleasant when they start taking it themselves. Okay, let’s blame the coach, people say when they start criticizing the owner.
Potter is aware that the most important data point at the moment is that his team has only managed two victories in 14 games played in all competitions since the first week of November, a run of performance unheard of for the Blues in this century.
Though for the manager there might not be a worse team to lose to than Spurs, there is really no better team on paper for an out-of-sorts Chelsea to face.