On December 16, Beijing time, the two matches of the 17th round of the 2023-24 English Premier League will start one after another, first Tottenham Hotspur will challenge Nottingham Forest away, and later the "Blues" Chelsea will face the visiting promoted Sheffield United at home. Both games have their own highlights, and a brief analysis is as follows:
The latest Premier League standings.
After 16 rounds, Tottenham Hotspur has 9 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses, and is in fifth place with 30 points, 7 points behind Liverpool at the top of the table.
Chelsea have won five, drawn four and lost seven, and are temporarily in 12th place with 19 points
Nottingham Forest have 14 points and are bottom 16thSheffield United are bottom of the table with eight points.
Nottingham Forest vsTottenham Hotspur
For Tottenham, playing at the start of a league game should be a relatively foreign feeling, as Tottenham have been participants in the last three Premier League games. From that perspective, the Tottenham Hotspur players may need to adjust their mentality.
Taking a look at the form of the two teams, in the 16th round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur beat Newcastle United 4-1 at home, finally ending the previous five rounds of winless streak and winning the morale-boosting three points. Son Heung-min played the captaincy role, and the returning Brazilian striker Richarlison also scored a goal, which were all positives.
Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, drew 1-1 away at Wolves, ending a four-game losing streak and giving the team a respite.
Last season, Tottenham achieved a "double" against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, but Nottingham Forest eliminated Tottenham in the League Cup, and the two teams won and lost each other.
Chelseavs Sheffield United.
For Chelsea, the Blues, it was a game they couldn't afford to lose.
After a 2-0 defeat at Everton in the last round, Chelsea suffered two defeats in a row, and it is estimated that Pochettino has a big headache on how to adjust Chelsea's form.
Sheffield United, on the other hand, thrashed Brentford 1-0 at home in the previous round to claim their second win back in the Premier League, and the team's form and morale have improved.
In the last seven meetings between the two teams, Chelsea have the advantage with five wins, one draw and one defeat, including three wins and one draw at home, and are unbeaten.
For Chelsea, poor defence is the biggest problem, the last five games, conceded at least two goals in each game, how to help the defenders regain their confidence, help the team find a more solid defence, is the task that Pochettino needs to complete.
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