The
Premier League needs Tottenham to beat Chelsea on Wednesday to keep the
title race open, says former Blues midfielder Ray Wilkins.
Antonio Conte's men have been in stunning form recently, matching Arsenal's
top flight record for the longest run of consecutive league victories in a
single season with their 4-2 win over Stoke on New Year's Eve.
They can set a new benchmark of 14 victories in a row when they face Spurs
live on Sky Sports on Wednesday, but former player and coach Wilkins thinks
for the sake of the league, Spurs need to beat the Blues.
"As far as the Premier League is concerned and I'm a Chelsea fan, but we
need Tottenham to beat Chelsea to keep it alive because at the moment, they
are absolutely outstanding," he told Goals on Sunday.
"When you have the ball, that is when they are at their most dangerous
because as soon as you lose it, the pace they have in Willian is superb.
Eden Hazard is playing out of his skin again and with the animal up front in
Diego Costa, he is a real throwback.
"He is brutal when he gets a hold of the centre-halves. Ryan Shawcross and
Bruno Martins Indi couldn't cope with him yesterday because he is so strong
and powerful. He's not the greatest technician, but my word he is so
strong.The pace on the counter-attack is quite scary."
But the Premier League Live regular did have praise for Stoke - who have
also come up against an in-form Liverpool in recent weeks - but says they
need to improve defensively.
"I was quite impressed with Stoke. I was impressed with them at Anfield when
they went there, and they took the game away from Liverpool to make it very
difficult for them," Wilkins added.
"They did exactly the same at Stamford Bridge yesterday and I thought they
were playing some really good stuff. Mark has got a good team there but
unfortunately they keep kicking themselves in the foot with the defending
they have from set-plays and general play. They are killing themselves."
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