IT'S trophy time at Wembley as Chelsea and Spurs clash for the Capital One Cup. We got Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) to preview the match for us.
Chelsea v Tottenham | Sunday 16:00 | Sky Sports 1
Almost 10 years to the day since Jose Mourinho, and Abramovich era Chelsea, announced their arrival in English football, they get another chance to add to their bustling trophy cabinet in this Capital One Cup Final against Spurs.
Jose Mourinho's relationship with this competition and Cup Final encounters in general make it very very hard to oppose Chelsea on Sunday. It's not something I can entertain.
Mourinho is a winner, and when he finds his side in a Cup Final, it rarely ends in tears. I make it 11 Cup Finals (excluding start-of-season showpiece matches) he's been involved in at Porto, Inter, Real Madrid and Chelsea, and he's won a staggering nine of those. That is a phenomenal record.
At Chelsea, it's three out of three. The 2005 and 2007 League Cup alongside the 2007 FA Cup speaks volumes for his desire and obsession with winning.
It could be argued Tottenham have run into Chelsea at the wrong time. The West London side have hit a flat-spot in recent weeks and will be frustrated at that.
They suffered the ignominy of drawing with Burnley last week and will be irked. Their vital cog Nemanja Matic is out of the match after a controversial sending off last week and boy that will hurt. Oh, and there's that New Years Day humbling at the hands of Spurs.
Add all that into the already bubbling pot of rampant and quasi-vile paranoia pedalled by Mourinho, and you find a club motivated by hate with incredible character strength. The more I write this preview, the more I foresee a comfortable Chelsea win.
You get the impression it was all about Season Two with Mourinho after last year's never-quite-there campaign, and if they fail to win here it will be a big setback. Let's not forget Jose is yet to receive a trophy in his Chelsea 2.0 spell.
For Tottenham and new boss Mauricio Pochettino it's a solid achievement reaching this stage. You'd be pretty sure the club won't plunge into deep crisis if they lose here, and whatever happens a strong marker has been laid down.
Spurs leak goals as we know. In 14 games in 2015, they kept just two clean sheets, and one of them was against a League One side. They've failed to beat Chelsea away from White Hart Lane in seven years and this feels such a tall order.
On the basis that (I think) there are so many psychological factors inspiring Chelsea and their masterful coach, I cannot oppose them in this game and wouldn't be surprised if they won comfortably.
I'll be bold here and back them at 9/5 with William Hill to win conceding a goal start. A two or more goal victory will see me paid out.
Best Bet
Chelsea v Tottenham – Chelsea -1 (9/5 William Hill)
3/1 Chelsea Win Trophy
Sportingbet are offering new players a massive 3/1 on Chelsea simply lifting the trophy on Sunday.
Yup, don't worry about extra-time and penalties, an overall win is all you need to collect.
