Jose Mourinho is extremely confident that Chelsea will start with three at the back in the London derby against Spurs this afternoon, just as they did in the 2-0 win over Mourinho’s side the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in December.
It was surprising to see Frank Lampard opt for a back three against Mourinho’s side prior to Christmas but the decision certainly worked as the away side outplayed the hosts from start to finish.
Mourinho revealed to Football.London ahead of the game that he’s been told that his opponents will once again line up the same way.
When asked how he knew, he said: “The same way you have a lot of news and you don’t tell the sources.”
The former Chelsea boss was then asked if Frank Lampard might now change his system to throw him off, to which he responded: “No. Of course [he will stick with the back three]. Of course.”
Tottenham will leapfrog Chelsea into the fourth spot if they get all three points this afternoon but Mourinho believes the Blues are still the favourites to finish fourth ahead of the chasing pack.
The 57-year-old added: “At the moment, Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal, Sheffield United, Wolverhampton, Everton – we are the underdogs.
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“We have ambitions to go there, but we are one, two, three points behind Chelsea. So Chelsea has an advantage over all of us. That is obvious. It is not a big advantage, but it is an advantage.
“So Chelsea at the moment are favourites for fourth position considering Leicester has nine or 10 points more at this stage of the season. But of course, Chelsea are favourites for fourth at this moment.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I think that playing away from home will actually help us in this game as Jose will set the team up to defend deep, frustrate them and hit them on the counter. Their defence is suspect and we will have our chances to win if we can keep it tight at the other end.
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