EFL Cup: Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur | Jan 6 - 3:45AM

[Mary C]

POTENTIAL LINEUPS: 

Chelsea: 

Kepa Arrizabalaga(G)  

Antonio Rüdiger  

Marcos Alonso  

 Andreas Christensen  

Thiago Silva  

Trevoh Chalobah  

Ben Chilwell  

Reece James  

César Azpilicueta  

Malang Sarr  

Xavier Mbuyamba  

 

Tottenham Hotspur: 

Hugo Lloris(G)  

Sergio Reguilon  

Eric Dier  

Christian Romero  

Davinson Sanchez  

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg  

Tanguy Ndombele  

Oliver Skipp  

Son Heung-Min  

Harry Kane  

Lucas Moura  

 

 

Northern London rivals clash! The Carabao Cup semi-finals is under way with the face-off between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur this 5th of January 2022, 07:45 PM GMT at Chelsea’s home turf Stamford Bridge, UK. This is the first leg for the semis with both teams having the opportunity to contend against Arsenal or Liverpool for the trophy. 

 

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel decided to drop forward Romelu Lukaku after an unauthorized interview with Sky Italia was released where the striker unapologetically criticized changes made by Tuchel in the team and raised the possibility of returning to Inter Milan. "Physically I'm doing great. I'm just not very happy with the situation, but that's normal … I think the boss has decided to play a different formation but I have to stick at it and get on with it professionally … I'm not happy with the situation but it's my job and I mustn't give up,” Lukaku stated in the interview filmed last December. 

Thomas Tuchel had no choice but to drop him from the squad mostly to provide maximum focus and concentration to the players as they start an important match this season. "It [the issue] simply got too big. There was too much noise. For that, we protected the preparation we need. We took him out of the squad to have quiet preparation, to have full focus. This is a huge game and you need to play it at top level,” commented Tuchel. 

 

For Tottenham, manager Antonio Conte holds the best stake to gain dominance over the North London derby and an opportunity to grab a trophy for the team after 13 years. Conte says he has nothing to prove and with a warm welcome returning to London, he only has appreciation to show for their rivals at Chelsea—"It will be great to come back to Stamford Bridge. It's the first time after I left Chelsea … What I can say is I spent two amazing seasons, I created a lot of friendships in the club. We did a really important, good job. I also enjoyed the work there … I have to tell thanks to Chelsea because they gave me the possibility to work in England. It will be good and emotional to come back to Stamford Bridge … But now I am the manager of Tottenham and I want to give this club 100 percent,” former 2016-17 Chelsea head coach Conte said in an interview. 

 

The match is between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs this 6th of January 2022 03:45 AM PHT. Watch the game live on Sky Sports football. Follow important news and updates for the league at efl.com/carabao-cup/.