It’s here again, the 2015 Capital One Cup final between two London sides Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur comes up today at Wembley Stadium.
The two London rival clubs will go head-to-head under the arch with both battling to secure their fifth League Cup triumph.
Jose Mourinho’s men defeated Bolton Wanderers, Shrewsbury Town, Derby County and Liverpool to earn their place at the final.
Spurs knocked out Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Hove Albion, Newcastle United and Sheffield United to reach their third League Cup showdown in eight seasons.
Chelsea will head into the League Cup final against Tottenham as the slight favourites to win the encounter.
The Blues head into the game not in the best of form having drawn their last two games after a 1-0 win against Everton in the Premier League.
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Jose Mourinho is also facing a selection dilemma with Nemanja Matic banned for the game while his natural replacement, John Obi Mikel, is suffering with an injury.
However, Mourinho will relish the tactical challenge of getting the better of Spurs this weekend.
Tottenham are facing a challenge in terms of picking themselves up after a disappointing defeat in the Europa League against Fiorentina.
However, this is a great chance for Spurs to win some silverware this weekend and it will be fascinating to see what sort of approach and mentality they take at the start of the game.
They have the obvious benefit of having played Chelsea off the park in the most recent Premier League match between the clubs to fall back on.
Both sides will be at full strength and it will be a great spectacle for all fans.
Tottenham in recent games with Chelsea have caused problems to Jose Mourinho boys.
Chelsea go into this weekend’s Capital One Cup final as top favourites, but Tottenham will be looking back to their remarkable 5-3 victory over Chelsea on New Year’s Day as inspiration for a Wembley win.
England sensational striker Harry Kane was brilliant on the encounter as he destroyed Chelsea, scoring two goals at White Hart Lane. Gary Cahill and John Terry couldn’t handle him.
How will Mourinho get a replacement for suspended Nemanja Matic? Chelsea have lost only one match with him in the side this season – but Jon Obi Mikel, when he has come in, has not had a great record this season in the big games.
Chelsea, though, will hope they can hurt Tottenham at the other end of the pitch but Mauricio Pochettino will be particularly concerned about Eden Hazard.
Spurs will have to find a way to contain Hazard or limit his involvement in the game, given the open spaces at Wembley he can brilliantly exploit.
How Kyle Walker deals with Hazard will be a key factor to the Spurs. The England man has pace and goes forward, but does he have the defensive skills to contain the tricky Hazard?
Another key battle will be Diego Costa against the Tottenham centre backs. Jan Vertonghen will be up for the biggest contest.
A Thursday night away game in Europe ahead of the Capital One Cup final was the last thing Spurs needed. To have lost at Fiorentina makes it even tougher for them to be at their absolute best this weekend.
Unlike Mourinho, Pochettino only found out on Friday morning, which players will be fit and firing for Sunday, while the Chelsea team have been able to focus on the final all week long.
This is a hard game to call, given the extreme results we’ve seen in the past two fixtures between the sides, but tiredness could be an issue for Spurs.
Anthony Nlebem
