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NGolo Kante of Chelsea (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Chelsea come up against Tottenham Hotspur away from home tomorrow evening in one of their most important games of the season. The two sides are level on points at the moment, so this match will decide who climbs up the table.
It’s Thomas Tuchel’s first London derby so the nerves are bound to be high, especially away from home. But here are three players he simply must start if he wants to improve his chances of winning…
Chelsea’s destroyer N’Golo Kante
The last two Chelsea managers have severely misused N’Golo Kante by playing him out of position and in a less preferred role. This is why of all people, Kante would have been most excited by Tuchel’s appoitnment, especially after he revealed he plans to use the Frenchman in his more renowned destroyer role.
Against Tottenham this will be particularly important since Spurs revolve their play around dominating the midfield battles.
N%e2%80%99Golo Kante</a> by playing him out of position and in a less preferred role. This is why of all people, Kante would have been most excited by Tuchel’s appoitnment, especially after he revealed he plans to use the Frenchman in his more renowned destroyer role.</p>
<p>Against Tottenham this will be particularly important since Spurs revolve their play around dominating the midfield battles.</p><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_485952" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-485952" src=https://playingfor90.com/2021/02/03/tottenham-chelsea-3-players-start/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1230822935-850x560.jpeg" alt="Chelsea" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Thomas Tuchel and Thiago Silva, Chelsea (Photo by RICHARD HEATHCOTE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>THIAGO SILVA</h2>
<p>When playing against Harry Kane, you need to deploy the best of the best. Not only because of his immense goal scoring ability but also this new trick he has found which draws fouls and even injuries from defenders. <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2021/02/03/tottenham-chelsea-3-players-start/"https://fbref.com/en/players/86e7deaf/Thiago-Silva?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Thiago Silva</a> will have done his research, I’m sure.</p>
<p>There aren’t many in the business better and more experienced than Silva. While he may be getting on a bit, he is still capable of playing in big games like this. His form has been immense and is one of the reasons why Tuchel has started his campaign with a good defensive start.</p><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_485954" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-485954" src=https://playingfor90.com/2021/02/03/tottenham-chelsea-3-players-start/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1230306965-850x560.jpeg" alt="Chelsea" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">Olivier Giroud, Chelsea (Photo by JULIAN FINNEY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>OLIVIER GIROUD</h2>
<p>Remember how I said Tottenham will pay with a physically demanding striker? Well, luckily for the Blues, they have a striker that could match this style of play. <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2021/02/03/tottenham-chelsea-3-players-start/"https://fbref.com/en/players/16ceb862/Olivier-Giroud?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">Olivier Giroud</a> is one of the best target men in Europe and has proven so throughout his career.</p>
<p>If there is anyone that can get above the tall Tottenham defence to slot home from a wide cross, it’s Giroud. He will also be key to the linkup play should Tuchel wish to slowly break down the Spurs defence. He will provide more than Timo Werner does, that’s for sure.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Predicting the Chelsea XI to face Tottenham" data-url="https://playingfor90.com/2021/02/02/chelsea-xi-tottenham-thomas-tuchel/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2021/02/03/tottenham-chelsea-3-players-start/"https://playingfor90.com/2021/02/02/chelsea-xi-tottenham-thomas-tuchel/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Predicting the Chelsea XI to face Tottenham </a> </div>
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<p>Who do you think will win in this one?</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
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