Chelsea v Tottenham Betting Preview

Chelsea host Tottenham this Saturday afternoon as they look to close the gap between themselves and Premier League leaders Manchester Untied to just three points.

United face a tricky trip to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon giving Chelsea the opportunity to close the gap at the top ahead of their date with destiny at Old Trafford next weekend.

The Blues are boosted by the news that Michael Essien could return for the visit of Spurs while defender Alex is also in contention for a recall but Ramires is unlikely to be available.

Tottenham fullback Benoit Assou-Ekotto is out with a torn hamstring and Alan Hutton, Ledley King, Wilson Palacios and Jonathan Woodgate are all not yet ready to return.

Fernando Torres ended his goal drought when coming off the bench to score against West Ham last weekend. He and the Chelsea fans will be hopeful that it proves to be the first of many for the Blues.

"It was not the beginning I was expecting when I signed, but it's never easy when you arrive in January at a massive team like this," Torres said.

"There's less pressure for me now, now I can enjoy it."

The Spanish strikers is quoted at odds of 6/5 to add to his tally this weekend and is 9/2 to open the scoring.

Tottenham go into this game also in desperate need of maximum points in their bid to achieve a top four finish. However, Spurs have not won at Stamford Bridge since 1990 and are dreadfully out of form having recorded just one win in their last ten games in all competitions.

The bookmakers price Chelsea as 8/15 favourites to pick up maximum points here while the draw is priced at 3/1 and Spurs are 11/2 to break their Stamford Bridge hoodoo.

Nothing less than three points will be acceptable for either team and that should make for an entertaining game for the neutral. Spurs are capable of spoiling the party when at their best but recent form suggests a straightforward home win.