Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's
EFL Cup showdown between
Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea!
The semi-finals get underway today and these two sides are doing battle to return back to this very stadium for the final and a shot at the first piece of silverware of the season. The Premier League fixture between these London rivals produced talking points aplenty, so hopefully we are in for more of the same tonight!
Let's start with a look at the team news...
TOTTENHAM STARTING XI: Gazzaniga; Trippier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose; Winks, Sissoko; Eriksen, Dele, Son; Kane
SUBS: Loris, Davies, Foyth, Walker-Peters, Skipp, Lamela, Llorente
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Barkley; Willian, Hazard, Hudson-Odoi
SUBS: Caballero, Zappacosta, Ampadu, Luiz, Kovacic, Pedro, Giroud
Strong sides named by both managers!
We'll start with the home side, who name pretty much all of their big-hitters in the starting lineup tonight, including the in-form duo of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.
Son has arguably been Tottenham's most important player of the last few weeks, but he will be unavailable after this weekend's match against Manchester United as he jets off to the Asian Cup. Spurs are sure to miss him considering how good he has been for them of late.
Mind you, Tottenham are not exactly lacking for attacking talent and Harry Kane, as ever, is also in fine form at the moment, contributing either a goal or an assist in each of his last eight appearances.
Both Kane and Son were on the scoresheet when these two sides faced off at this very ground in November, but the man Chelsea may be most fearful of tonight is Dele Alli. The England midfielder has scored six times against Chelsea in his career - more than he has managed against any other opponent - and also have four goals in his last five League Cup appearances for the club.
© Reuters
As expected, there are lots of changes from the 7-0 drubbing Spurs gave Tranmere Rovers on Friday night, but Paulo Gazzaniga does keep his place in goal ahead of Hugo Lloris as Pochettino keeps faith with his cup goalkeeper.
Aside from that selection, this is a team which you would expect to see in a Premier League game as Spurs go all out for the victory which would take them halfway to the final of the competition, and another step closer to that elusive trophy.
One of those changes is enforced as Lucas Moura misses out with the knee injury he picked up against Tranmere, while the likes of Dier, Vertonghen, Wanyama and China-bound Dembele remain sidelined.
Llorente will have no doubt about his place in the pecking order behind Kane, but he may feel a fraction hard done by to miss out after scoring a hat-trick on Friday night, while Serge Aurier is absent entirely despite scoring twice. In all, there are seven changes from that Tranmere win.
As for Chelsea, their headline surrounds Callum Hudson-Odoi, who starts once again for Sarri amid swirling rumours that he is on the verge of leaving the club.
Bayern Munich are understood to have made a number of attempts to sign him, while Juventus have also been mentioned as possible suitors, but for now he remains a Chelsea player and he keeps his place in the team after provided both assists in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The man who scored both goals in that match - Alvaro Morata - is left out of the squad entirely for tonight's game, having also been the subject of exit rumours during the ongoing window.
That will leave Eden Hazard to lead the line once again - a position he has previously admitted that he does not like to play but one he is expected to carry out a lot more often should Chelsea not bring in a new striker this month. There is no doubting the Belgian's quality, but he always seems to play better out wide.
Hazard has scored in his last three League Cup appearances and could become the first player to score in four on the bounce since Dwight Gayle for Crystal Palace in September 2015 should he net tonight.
He will be supported by Willian - who has returned from a hamstring injury - while Sarri does have the options of Pedro and Giroud - also both back from injury - on the bench.
© Reuters
A surprise starter is Andreas Christensen as David Luiz drops to the bench, but aside from that it is as we would have expected for the Blues - the only other marginal call being Barkley or Kovacic in midfield.
Barkley gets the nod tonight as one of only three players to keep their place from the FA Cup win over Forest at the weekend. The eight changes all see usual first-teamers return to the fold.
The team selections dispel any doubt - if there was any - that both teams are going all out to win this competition now, with the changes from previous rounds making way for almost first-choice XI considering the final is just two games away.
Spurs in particular will be feeling very confident coming into this match having already swept Chelsea aside here this season, but they so often seem to fall just short when they get to within touching distance of silverware.
To their credit, though, they remain in contention for all four trophies this season, having cruised through to the FA Cup fourth round, staged a remarkable recovery to save their Champions League hopes and kept in touch at the top of the Premier League table.
Only six points separate Mauricio Pochettino's side from leaders Liverpool now, while they are just two points adrift of Man City, and they will very much be looking up the table rather than over their shoulders at Chelsea right now.
A couple of poor results can change all of that, of course, but Spurs have been among the most consistent teams in the country in recent teams - save for the occasion slip-up.
Pochettino's side have won 14 of their last 17 outings across all competitions, losing two and drawing the other away at Barcelona, and that includes six wins from their last seven games too.
It is in the past five games where Tottenham have been really impressive, though - with the exception of their shock defeat here at the hands of Wolves.
Spurs have scored a whopping 22 goals in their last five outings - including five or more in a game on three separate occasions - while so far in 2019 they have netted 10 goals without reply. They will undoubtedly find things tougher tonight, but they are a team in very good form.
© Reuters
The latest of those wins was the 7-0 hammering of Tranmere in the third round of the FA Cup on Friday night, but while they were handed a kind draw in that competition, they have earned their place in the semi-finals of this one the hard way.
Spurs have seen off Premier League opposition every step of the way so far, beating Watford on penalties after a 2-2 draw, overcoming West Ham 3-1 and then, most impressively, beating Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium last month.
This will be the club's 15th EFL Cup semi-final - a record only Liverpool can beat - and they last reached the final in 2014-15. They lost on that occasion - and indeed on the previous one in 2008-09 - meaning that the last of their four League Cup crowns came more than a decade ago in 2008.
Since then, Spurs have played in six major semi-finals, but the four of those which have been against Premier League opposition have all ended in defeat, with their only wins in that time coming against League One Sheffield United and Championship Burnley.
Tottenham's trophy drought has been used as a stick with which to beat the club for a number of years now, and it remains the only question mark hanging over the head of Pochettino despite intense speculation linking him with Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Indeed, Pochettino is not just waiting for his first trophy as Spurs boss, he is also without one in his managerial career so far, despite making such impressive progress in charge of the North London outfit.
Pochettino just so happens to be coming up against a manager in the same position, although the pressure on Sarri to lead Chelsea to silverware is not quite as intense just yet.
Nonetheless, the Italian has earned plenty of plaudits but no actual trophies in his managerial career so far, making him and Pochettino the only two top-six bosses yet to get their hands on a major honour.
© Reuters
Sarri has already missed one chance in his fledgling Chelsea career having lost the Community Shield to Man City back in August - one of only four defeats he has suffered as Chelsea boss so far.
Worryingly for today, though, half of those defeats have come on this very ground, with that Community Shield loss to Man City being followed by an 18-match unbeaten run before they were undone by Tottenham here in the Premier League on November 24.
Spurs could therefore become only the second team to lose twice against the same opponent at Wembley in a single season, reluctantly following in the footsteps of Sheffield Wednesday, who were beaten by Arsenal in the League Cup final and FA Cup final in 1992-93.
It is a statistic which probably has not even registered with Chelsea, but if they do fall to defeat then they at least need to make sure that it is a narrow one to give them a fighting chance in the second leg at Stamford Bridge later this month.
Defeat tonight is reversible, then, but their loss here to Spurs in the Premier League is so far playing a fairly substantial role in the table with these two sides separated by four points as things stand.
Whereas Tottenham are still considered outsiders in the title race, Chelsea are very much considered in the top-four race with only three points now separating them from fifth-placed Arsenal after they were held by Southampton in their last league game.
Chelsea come into this match having lost just one of their last nine games across all competitions, including clean sheets in each of their last three, the most recent of which came in a 2-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.
Away from home, the Blues have won their last three and 10 of 14 outings across all competitions this season, although it is a different story with the clean sheets having kept just one in their last six matches on the road.
Chelsea have won just one of their last five away games inside normal time in this competition, though, losing three of those while going on to win one of them in extra time.
That solitary win inside 90 minutes did come this season, though, and it was an impressive one too as Chelsea came from behind to inflict a first defeat of the campaign on Liverpool at Anfield, helped by a moment of magic from Hazard.
© Reuters
Chelsea have since gone on to beat Derby and Bournemouth to reach the semi-final stage for a second successive season, although they were knocked out in the last four by North London opposition in 2017-18 when a 2-1 defeat away to Arsenal proved decisive after a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues tend to fare better when playing the first leg away from home, progressing from four of the five ties where that has been the case, despite winning only one of those away first legs.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Wembley, which means that it is time for a prediction!
This is a difficult one to call with both managers having named such strong teams. Spurs have the home advantage, which proved important in the Premier League tie, and while Chelsea are more than capable of winning this game, we are going to side with the hosts once again.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea
I have already mentioned the Premier League game here between these two sides on a few occasions, and Chelsea will be desperate to avoid another slow start tonight having found themselves 2-0 down within 16 minutes on their last visit to Wembley.
Pochettino's side went on to win 3-1, making it back-to-back triumphs over Chelsea by that scoreline having also run out 3-1 victors at Stamford Bridge in April when Eriksen and Alli (2) sealed a win from behind.
Spurs had only won two of their previous 18 meetings with Chelsea across all competitions prior to those back-to-back wins, so they will be hoping that the tide is turning in their favour for this fixture.
Indeed, another win tonight would see them register three successive victories over their London rivals for the first time since a run of five in their glory days between March 1961 and September 1963.
This is the ninth time that these two sides have met in the League Cup, and the first since the 2015 final, which Chelsea won. That is one of four victories for Chelsea from those nine games, with Spurs picking up only two - although one of those was in the 2008 final.
This is also the third time that they have faced each other in the semi-final of this competition too - after 1971-72 and 2001-02 - with Arsenal vs. Spurs the only fixture to have been played more often at this stage.
Right, we're almost ready for kickoff at Wembley! Let's have a reminder of the team news before we get started...
TOTTENHAM STARTING XI: Gazzaniga; Trippier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose; Winks, Sissoko; Eriksen, Dele, Son; Kane
CHELSEA STARTING XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Barkley; Willian, Hazard, Hudson-Odoi
KICKOFF: Tottenham get us underway at Wembley!
Son almost breaks in behind the defence as Alli looks to release him over the top. It looks like he might get there ahead of Christensen too before both tangle and tumble to the ground. Kane is screaming for a foul - and possibly a red card - but Michael Oliver says no.
© Reuters
SHOT! Barkley look to conjure something out of nothing with a snapshot from 20 yards, but his effort flashes wide of the near post. Gazzaniga had it covered.
SAVE! Brilliant from Kane as he adjusts and meets Trippier's cross with a bicycle kick which is on target, but too close to Kepa.
I've just seen a replay of that Christensen and Son tangle from the opening stages of the game and it looks as though the referee got it right. There was a slight hold on Son, but not enough to result in what probably would have been a red card.
SAVE! Willian pings the ball over to Hudson-Odoi, who advances into the area, works space to shoot and then draws a routine save from Gazzaniga with his low effort.
There is a cracking atmosphere inside Wembley, and the game has got off to a really good start too. First legs can often be cagey affairs, but not this one so far.
Both sides will be pretty pleased with how they have performed so far, and particularly Chelsea considering how slow they were to really get going in the Premier League game.
Chelsea are just starting to see a bit more of the ball now, which is preventing Tottenham from getting back into their rhythm at the moment and also helping to quieten the stadium a little. Only a little, mind.
The quick opening has just begun to slow down a little in the last 10 minutes or so. Hopefully it will not develop into the type of cautious match that first legs so often can be.
Barkley again tries his luck from range, but this time it is a wild swipe at the ball with his left and it flies a long way wide.
Spurs were two goals up at this stage of the November meeting here, so Chelsea are faring much better than they did on that occasion. It is a very even match at the moment.
SAVE! Hazard is the latest Chelsea player to go for goal from range, but again it is easy for Gazzaniga.
Midway through the first half now and the noise levels have just risen again - not through excitement but rather to help cheer their side on after a bit of a lull.
VAR! Kane races on to a ball over the top and is wiped out by Kepa inside the box, but the linesman's flag is up! VAR with check - if he is off then it will be a Chelsea free kick, if he is on then it will surely be a penalty...
PENALTY! The VAR finally makes its decision, Michael Oliver points to the spot and Kepa receives a yellow card! Huge drama and controversy, but once again the correct decision has been made!
GOAL! TOTTENHAM 1-0 CHELSEA (HARRY KANE, PENALTY)
GOAL! Kane makes no mistake from the spot as he tucks it beyond Kepa, who barely moved until it was far too late. We haven't heard the last of that decision, but there was no doubt that it was a foul from Kepa and it otherwise would have been disallowed wrongly for offside!
It was the correct decision, but Chelsea will still feel a sense of injustice. They went from having a free kick near the halfway line to facing a penalty, and now they must try to harness that to help them press for an equaliser.
YELLOW CARD! Winks goes into the book for a trip on Hazard.
And to think Kane was once accused of being a one-season wonder...
SAVE! Chelsea have largely been limited to long-range shots so far tonight, and he is another as Kante fires it straight into the arms of the keeper.
Just under 10 minutes remaining in this first half now and we're yet to see too much of a response from Chelsea to falling behind.
Chelsea have had quite a few shots tonight, but none of them have really tested Gazzaniga and I can't think of a really good chance they have created. They need to improve going forward.
OFF THE POST! Just as I say that, Chelsea hit the post! It still isn't a great chance, but Kante makes a really good run to the front post and meets Alonso's cross. He diverts the ball towards goal on the volley, but it clips the outside of the upright on its way behind.
SHOT! Hudson-Odoi lines up Rose in the area before going onto his left and shooting, but his effort is high and wide.
Spurs have managed this game pretty well since going in front, but this is a two-legged affair, of course, and a 1-0 lead at the halfway stage is by no means secure. They will still want a second.
There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
OFF THE POST! Chelsea are so close to getting an equaliser out of nothing, right at the end of the half. Hudson-Odoi's cross takes a big deflection off Rose and loops over, but Gazzaniga gets a crucial hand to it to turn it against the inside of the post. Alderweireld is then there to hack it clear!
HALF TIME: TOTTENHAM 1-0 CHELSEA
The first half comes to an end at Wembley and it is Tottenham who go into the break with the lead - but only just after a couple of close calls in the closing stages.
It has been an even contest for the most part and the difference so far has been a VAR call, so there is still everything to play for in the second 45 minutes.
VAR was called into action as Spurs were awarded a penalty after Kane had raced through on goal and been upended by Kepa inside the box.
There was no doubt about the foul, but the linesman's flag had initially ruled Kane offside. However, after a review from the VAR they deemed the Spurs striker onside, meaning that the foul became relevant. From there, Kane tucked his spot kick into the bottom corner.
Chelsea struggled to really test Gazzaniga for much of the half, but they hit the post twice in the final five minutes - first when Kante got across his man and steered Alonso's cross against the outside of the post.
The second came with the final action of the half when Hudson-Odoi's cross took a big deflection which sent it looping over the keeper. Gazzaniga reacted well, though, to claw it against the inside of the post and Spurs survived by the skin of their teeth.
It will be interesting to see how both sides approach this second half, with a 1-0 scoreline not the end of the world for Chelsea considering they have the second leg at Stamford Bridge still to come.
Spurs may also want a bigger cushion, but they know that anything other than a win will hand the advantage to Chelsea at the halfway stage of this tie.
KICKOFF: Chelsea get us back underway at Wembley!
Almost a quick start from Spurs as Kane slides the ball through for Alli, but Rudiger comes flying across with an unorthodox - but effective - challenge.
Chelsea almost catch Spurs out with a clever quick free kick which Hudson-Odoi is close to getting on the end of, but it runs through to the keeper and the flag was up anyway.
Hazard picks the ball up on the edge of the box - a position from which he is always dangerous - and clips a cross towards the back post which is nodded behind for a corner.
SAVE! Thunderous from Kane as he lets fly from 25 yards with a fine effort. Kepa dives to his left and has to stick up a big hand to turn it behind for a corner. That was moving, so it was a decent stop in the end.
SAVE! Hazard jinks into shooting space just outside the area and gets a good shot away, but once again Gazzaniga is able to make the save.
SAVE! Yet another shooting chance for Chelsea from just outside the area - this time as Kante is given far too much room. His drive is swerving, but Gazzaniga once again responds well to push it away.
Chelsea are on top at the moment and they want a penalty here for handball against Rose, but both the referee and linesman say no.
CHANCE! Big chance for Chelsea to level things up as Barkley flicks Hazard's corner on to the back post and Christensen is left there unmarked. However, the defender stabs at the ball with his right foot when he would probably be better off going with his left and the ball flies wide!
YELLOW CARD! Sanchez picks up a yellow for a robust challenge from behind on Hazard.
Chelsea have been the better side since the start of the second half as they really put the pressure on for an equaliser. They will not be content with a 1-0 defeat to take back to Stamford Bridge for sure.
CHELSEA SUB: Change for Chelsea as Pedro replaces Willian.
Concern for Spurs here as Kane goes down and calls for treatment. He does not look too perturbed, but Tottenham fans will never want to see their star man go down.
Kane seemed to be holding his calf, but it looks like he will be fine to continue. He tells Pochettino that he does not need taking off.
Spurs have stepped things up again since that break in play and the fans have responded in kind. Wembley is far from capacity tonight - albeit sold out with the reduced capacity that is allowed - but the fans in the stadium are making it sound like the full 90,000 are here.
Just over 20 minutes remaining now as the noise levels continue to rise! This scoreline would set things up very intriguingly for the return leg, but there is still plenty of time to go tonight!
You can almost feel the tension inside the ground now - it is nervous excitement from the fans as they watch the seconds tick away. A goal either way now could change things drastically in the tie.
Olivier Giroud continues to sit on the bench for Chelsea, and I wonder whether Sarri will call on him before the end. Hazard has been a peripheral figure for much of the match in that false nine role.
Spurs are camped inside their own half at the moment with Chelsea applying relentless pressure. That comes to an end now, though, as Jorginho tries his luck from range but fires it well off target.
CHELSEA SUB: Chelsea do make a change, but it is not Giroud. On comes Mateo Kovacic for Barkley.
Chelsea have enjoyed 65% possession in this second half, and aside from that long-range Kane effort we have barely seen anything from Spurs. I asked how both sides would approach the second half, and the hosts seem to be protecting their lead.
TOTTENHAM SUB: Another change for the home side here as Son is replaced by Erik Lamela.
CHELSEA SUB: It is finally time for Olivier Giroud as he replaces Hudson-Odoi.
YELLOW CARD! Lamela goes into the book for a very physical challenge on Hazard.
Could the former Arsenal man have an impact?
Nervy moments for Spurs as the Chelsea pressure continues to build! Hazard earns a yard and Gazzaniga spills his cross into the box, but Spurs are eventually able to hack it clear.
Lamela is almost released through on goal by Kane, but Alonso gets back really well and then earns a foul off the Spurs man.
TOTTENHAM SUB: There will be a late appearance for Oliver Skipp here as he replaces Winks.
There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.
TOTTENHAM SUB: And Spurs look to eat some of that up by replacing Eriksen with Fernando Llorente.
FULL TIME: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1-0 CHELSEA
Tottenham hold out against the Chelsea pressure to pick up the victory - their third in a row against Chelsea and one which takes them that little bit closer to a first trophy in 11 years.
Harry Kane scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot - via an assist from VAR - but this tie is far from over and Chelsea will feel that they are capable of overturning the one-goal deficit when the two sides meet in the second leg later this month.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Spurs edge past Chelsea to gain a slender advantage at the halfway stage of this EFL Cup semi-final. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
