Everything on... Chelsea

We head to Chelsea on Thursday night for the second leg of our Carabao Cup semi-final with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg.

Harry Kane's penalty at Wembley two weeks ago has given us that narrow lead going into the second leg and we know a positive result at Stamford Bridge will be enough to send us through to the final.

Here’s all you need to know about the Blues…

Team news

Maurizio Sarri will be missing just one of his current squad for the second leg of our semi-final encounter as Ruben Loftus-Cheek remains unavailable with a back injury.

At the time of writing, Sarri had also confirmed that the Blues were closing in on the loan signing of Gonzalo Higuain from Juventus and that he expected the deal to be completed on Wednesday evening. If the Argentine striker is to complete his move to the Bridge it will come too late for him to face us on Thursday, however, as the transfer will not have met the deadline for him to be eligible to face us.

One to watch

Jorginho followed Maurizio Sarri from Napoli to Stamford Bridge last summer and has made a solid start to life in England. Having been utilised at the base of Chelsea’s midfield trio, displacing the ever dependable N’Golo Kante, the 27-year-old has impressed with his distribution and control in the centre of the field. His quality on the ball was crucial to Chelsea’s early-season unbeaten run and his form this term has seen the Italian international make over 100 more passes in total than another player (1,896 passes). In his team's 0-0 draw against West Ham United, the midfielder made 180 passes – the most by any player in a single game in the history of the Premier League.

Last five meetings 

8 January 2019 - Spurs 1-0 Chelsea – Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg
24 November, 2018 – Spurs 3-1 Chelsea – Premier League
1 April, 2018 – Chelsea 1-3 Spurs – Premier League
20 August, 2017 – Spurs 1-2 Chelsea – Premier League
22 April, 2017 – Chelsea 4-2 Spurs – FA Cup semi-final

Previous clash

Harry Kane's penalty proved decisive in the first leg at Wembley on 8 January.

We played a patient game in the first half, building from the back and took the lead on 26 minutes when Harry latched onto Toby Alderweireld's pass and was upended by Kepa Arrizabalaga. VAR checked that Harry wasn't offside, the penalty was awarded and Harry did the rest from 12 yards.

Chelsea upped the pressure in the second half but only created one clear-cut chance when Andreas Christensen fired wide from close range. Otherwise, we stayed resolute with Paulo Gazzaniga only tested from distance by N'Golo Kante and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Chelsea in the Carabao Cup

Like us, the Blues have had to battle through a series of tough ties to reach the semi-finals. They kicked off their campaign by defeating Premier League leaders Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield, turning the game on its head with two goals in the last 11 minutes. Maurizio Sarri’s side were then pushed all the way at Stamford Bridge by Frank Lampard's Derby County before progressing with a 3-2 win. In the quarter-finals, Chelsea once again left it late as Eden Hazard fired home on 84 minutes against Bournemouth to book his team’s place in the last four.

Other semi-final, second leg - Wednesday - Burton Albion v Manchester City (first leg: 0-9).

What they're saying

Maurizio Sarri spoke to the media ahead of the second-leg meeting and admits he is expecting a reaction from his players following their 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday.

“We want to win, of course. We know it will be difficult because they are a very good team, but we have to try, and I think we can do it,” he commented.

“I think we need to react (to the Arsenal defeat) on the pitch, all the rest is nothing. We discussed with the players how to try to improve the approach, the motivation and determination so we are trying to change something in training, pre-match and everything. We all have to react on the pitch.

“We need to discuss our problems. The first step, if I want to improve, is to accept the mistake otherwise it’s impossible to improve. It’s a normal discussion for improving.”