As Tottenham heads to Stamford Bridge this weekend to resume rivalries with their London neighbours, one wonders what state of mind they are currently having heading into this encounter.
Moussa Dembele gouged the eye of Diego Costa which earned him a six match suspension last season.
Last season, in the match that was dubbed 'Battle of the Bridge', Tottenham surrendered a two-goal lead in a must-win match to all but end their title aspirations to a Chelsea team that was recuperating under Guus Hiddink. From then on, it was the begining of the end for the London football club as they crumbled to relinquish second place to Arsenal.
Before their midweek UEFA Champions League clash with Monaco, Mauricio Pochettino deemed the match a 'must-win' encounter only to come up short in France.
The pattern from last season certainly looks similar to the current campaign, 'after a must win match which you somehow conspire to not win, just do the crumbling'.
Heading into Stamford Bridge where Chelsea have been on a roller coaster lately (vs. Leicester City 3-0, vs. Manchester United 4-0, vs. Everton 5-0) and haven't lost to their London rivals since February 1990, one wonders whether they are psychological prepared for this encounter.
How do they get to recover from being out of the Champions League and go to a ground that has proven to be a hard nut to crack all in a week while their rivals were resting?
How do they play a team that is on song and showing no signs of weakness (haven't conceded a goal in 590 minutes)?
It's safe to say that all the circumstances are against Tottenham heading into this clash. They are four points adrift of the leaders - Chelsea and therefore must win to close the gap or lose and could be saying goodbye to their title aspirations as early as November.
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