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Tottenham's chances of winning the Premier League title are all but extinguished, but don't tell that to first team coach Mauricio Pochettino. In pre-match comments posted on the club's website, Pochettino said that Spurs have gotten the sadness of last week's loss to West Brom out of their system.
Now, it's back to business. And that business is a suddenly motivated Chelsea team.
"West Brom was tough, we were all disappointed with the result and it’s always hard because our dream is to fight for the title and we missed a big opportunity to reduce the gap.
"It was a big hit for us. The dream, the motivation is to fight for the title and we dropped two points, you always feel disappointed, but that all disappears because we need to be ready for Monday.
"We keep working hard, try to believe and the players have given their best every day.
They are good now and ready to compete again against Chelsea. It’s a big derby and we need to try and win the game and try to still fight for the title."
Of course, getting a win at Stamford bridge is a tall order. Spurs haven't done so in the league in 25 years, a streak that well predates the Blues' oil-drenched surge into the upper echelons of world football. Chelsea has always sort of been a banana-peel club for Spurs.
Chelsea, for what it's worth, has also apparently decided that despite this being a dead-rubber match for them, they probably shouldn't just roll over for a London rival. This is Chelsea, after all, and much like Arsenal they can't let Spurs have good things.
Still, this game feels different heading into it. The first match against Spurs was a classic Mourinho-esque 0-0 defensive bore-fest, but West Brom aside, Spurs are firing on (nearly) all cylinders and this is no longer Mourinho's team. While it's dangerous to take a side to Stamford Bridge that is potentially devoid of much of its bromance -- Dele Alli is suspended and Eric Dier could miss the match with a concussion -- Spurs fans still should feel confident that, at bare minimum, they shouldn't crap the bed.
A result would be good. A win would be fantastic.