Roberto De Zerbi has called on his Tottenham players to channel the animosity from Chelsea and their supporters as motivation to secure the single point required to guarantee Premier League survival. A decade after the infamous 'Battle of the Bridge' — a fiery 2-2 draw that confirmed Leicester City as champions and extinguished Tottenham's title hopes — a similar outcome at Stamford Bridge would keep the visitors up, thanks to a 13-goal advantage over West Ham United, and deny the schadenfreude of those wishing to see Spurs relegated for the first time since 1977.
Pride as motivation
'Pride is an amazing motivation,' said De Zerbi. 'If everyone wants Tottenham relegated, I think for a Tottenham player, a Tottenham fan and all those who work inside Tottenham, it has to be the biggest motivation. I am Italian and in Italy, it's the same. For the biggest teams, it's the same. We have to accept the pressure. We have to enjoy this pressure. We have to accept that football is nice because of the rivalry. We have to find new motivation from this pressure. It's a good thing for us. If everyone wants Tottenham relegated, it's a big motivation for me, and I hope for my players as well. It's good to imagine ourselves celebrating the win in their stadium.'
Historical struggles at the Bridge
Tottenham's record at Stamford Bridge is dismal, with just one victory in their last 40 visits — a 3-1 win in 2018, featuring goals from Dele Alli (2) and Christian Eriksen. Before that, Gary Lineker scored the winner in 1990. De Zerbi claimed ignorance of the 'Battle of the Bridge' and paid little attention to West Ham's defeat at Newcastle on Sunday, which eased the pressure. In 2016, he was beginning his coaching career with Foggia in Italy's third tier.
Call for calm and focus
De Zerbi will urge his team to remain composed as they seek to extend a four-match unbeaten run. 'Always calm with blood,' he said. 'Personality with the right spirit, but anyway calm and focus just on the game.' He noted how Tottenham nearly conceded a late equaliser to Leeds because the reaction to conceding had been 'too strong too fast,' requiring a brilliant save from Antonin Kinsky to preserve a point.
The Spurs boss knows Chelsea well, having coached four of their players — Joao Pedro, Moses Caicedo, Levi Colwill, and Robert Sanchez — at Brighton. He witnessed Chelsea's 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest two weeks ago and is not deceived into thinking the match will be easier despite Chelsea's poor Premier League form, with just one point from their last seven games. The home crowd will relish the opportunity to increase pressure and send Tottenham into a final-day nail-biter.
Confidence and survival
In his pre-match address, De Zerbi emphasised his team's improved results since his arrival. 'We have to play with confidence because in the last four games we made eight points, and if you analyse the performance, we could have made more,' he said. 'We can't forget what the situation was a month ago. We are not safe yet. The most important thing now is to stay up and play in the Premier League next season.'
Guglielmo Vicario is fit again after a hernia operation, though Antonin Kinsky is expected to continue in goal. Dominic Solanke remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
