Chelsea vs Tottenham LIVE: EFL Cup semi-final latest news and reaction as Chelsea win penalty shootout

Chelsea to face Man City in Carabao Cup Final
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Chelsea vs Tottenham LIVE
EFL Cup semi-final second leg
Venue: Stamford Bridge

Chelsea answered Maurizio Sarri's criticism to advance to the Carabao Cup final with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Tottenham after a frenetic clash at Stamford Bridge.

Spurs, who had been seeking a first trophy since the 2008 League Cup, saw their slender first-leg advantage wiped out by a N'Golo Kante strike which went through the legs of Moussa Sissoko and Paulo Gazzaniga.

And Eden Hazard - labelled an "individual player" and "not a leader" by Sarri on Wednesday - netted following a flowing move to give Chelsea a 2-1 aggregate lead.

Fernando Llorente's header levelled the tie and penalties followed as neither side could find a winner inside 90 minutes, leaving them locked at 2-2 after two legs.

Eric Dier sent Spurs' third penalty soaring into the Matthew Harding Stand and, after Jorginho put Chelsea in front, Lucas Moura's weak spot kick was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

David Luiz kept his composure to drill low into the net as Chelsea reached the February 24 final with Manchester City, giving Sarri a chance to claim his first managerial silverware. The wait goes on for Mauricio Pochettino.

We will have all the latest news and analysis from our team, with James Olley, Simon Johnson, Dan Kilpatrick, Vaishali Bhardwaj and Jack Rosser at the Bridge tonight.

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Chelsea vs Tottenham team news and line-ups

Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Emerson, Jorginho, Kante, Barkley, Hazard, Pedro, Giroud

Subs: Caballero, Ampadu, Alonson, Kovacic, Hudson-Odoi, Willian, Piazon

Tottenham XI: Gazzaniga, Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Winks, Sissoko, Eriksen, Lamela, Llorente

Subs: Lloris, Rose, Sanchez, Walker-Peters, Skipp, Nkoudou, Lucas

TV channel and live stream online coverage

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports' Football and Main Event channels, and is available via Now TV with a day pass on offer for £7.99. Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.

You can follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.

Head to Head history (h2h)

The London rivals have met 162 times, with Chelsea winning 68 games to Tottenham's 54, with 40 draws along the way.

Their last meeting came on January 8, with Harry Kane's penalty sealing a 1-0 first-leg win for Spurs at Wembley.

Who is the Chelsea vs Tottenham referee?

Martin Atkinson will officiate tonight's Stamford Bridge clash - with a little help from the video assistant referee of course.

Atkinson has refereed 18 Premier League games this season - only Anthony Taylor (20) and Michael Oliver (19) have overseen more - and has shown just one red card, with 56 yellow cards.

He also oversaw the team's League meeting back in November, which Spurs won 3-1 at Wembley.

That should ensure a level head if things get feisty between the London rivals - in comparison, Mike Dean has shown nine red cards in 17 games.

24 January 2019

Team news

Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Emerson, Jorginho, Kante, Barkley, Hazard, Pedro, Giroud

Subs: Caballero, Ampadu, Alonson, Kovacic, Hudson-Odoi, Willian, Piazon

Tottenham XI: Gazzaniga, Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen (C), Davies, Dier, Winks, Sissoko, Eriksen, Lamela, Llorente

Subs: Lloris, Rose, Sanchez, Walker-Peters, Skipp, Nkoudou, Lucas

24 January 2019

We're about ten minutes from team news

Of course one man who won't be featuring tonight is Gonzalo Higuaín. 

Chelsea's new number nine trained with his new teammates for the first time earlier, but was not registered in time for this fixture. 

24 January 2019

Who is the Chelsea vs Tottenham referee?

Martin Atkinson will officiate tonight's Stamford Bridge clash - with a little help from the video assistant referee of course.

Atkinson has refereed 18 Premier League games this season - only Anthony Taylor (20) and Michael Oliver (19) have overseen more - and has shown just one red card, with 56 yellow cards.

He also oversaw the team's League meeting back in November, which Spurs won 3-1 at Wembley.

That should ensure a level head if things get feisty between the London rivals - in comparison, Mike Dean has shown nine red cards in 17 games.

24 January 2019

Kick-off is at 7:45pm GMT tonight, so we are around 80 minutes from team news.

Given Maurizio Sarri's recent comments about Eden Hazard not being a 'leader' for Chelsea, tonight will be a real test of the Belgian. He's enjoyed a superb season so far, but will be tasked with winning tonight's game for the Blues against a weakened Spurs side - can he step up?

24 January 2019

Pochettino wants VAR delay

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has called for the introduction of VAR to be delayed.

Pochettino is not a fan of the system in its current guise, despite it helping Spurs take a slender lead to Chelsea tonight.

In the first leg at Wembley a fortnight ago, VAR awarded Spurs a penalty after ruling Harry Kane was onside in the build-up to his foul.

There was confusion, though, as the linesman did not keep up with play and there was a lengthy wait for referee Michael Oliver to award the decision before Kane slotted home the match-winning spot-kick.

Pochettino heavily criticised the system after that match and wants the governing bodies to wait before bringing it in to all competitions next season until it is more refined.

He said: "For me, I think it is a good idea to delay because if we don't have all the information and don't know how it will work or how we can better develop the system, it is better to stop for one year or more.

"That is my opinion if people ask me - I don't know if Daniel (Levy) will ask me or the Premier League.

"But watching every single game in Europe now, nobody is happy. I promise you - nobody! What worries me a bit is that there is going to be a situation where football starts to annoy fans.

"This business is so important and our fans - football fans - must be happy. If you stop for five minutes for a decision, I don't know how they are going to behave.

"The Premier League today is the best spectacle in the world, maybe with the NFL or NBA in America. But certainly it is the best show in Europe or in football. So we need to be careful how we develop this system and how we use it."

24 January 2019

Sarri wants more from Hazard

Maurizio Sarri seems to be playing with fire these days...

The Chelsea coach last night followed the extraordinary criticism of his players with a less than favourable critique of Eden Hazard.

Hazard, in an interview with France Football this week, spoke about frustrating all his managers, with Sarri laughing when the comments were put to him while praising the Belgian playmaker in one moment and calling on him to do more the next.

"Sometimes. I prefer him when he speaks with his feet," the 60-year-old Italian said.

"The potential is higher than the performances, I think. He has to respect, first of all, himself. He has to do more."

He then went on to question Hazard's leadership credentials...

"Eden is at the moment a wonderful player, but he's an individual player. He's a very instinctive player.

"He's very important for us, of course, because he's a great player. He always can win the match in two minutes, sometimes in one minute, but at the moment he's not a leader.

"For him it's very difficult to play only in one position. He wants the ball on the feet.

"For him, I think, it's very difficult to play as a striker, but it's very difficult to play also as a winger.

"We have to organise the other 10 players in the defensive phase because he needs to play everywhere on the pitch."

24 January 2019

Chelsea vs Tottenham predicted line-ups

So, how will the London rivals shape up tonight?

Gonzalo Higuain will not feature for Chelsea as his anticipated signing was not completed in time. Eden Hazard could continue as a 'false nine' or Olivier Giroud could start, with Alvaro Morata out of favour ahead of his expected departure. Midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek (back) is likely to be out again.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Pedro, Willian, Hazard.

Tottenham could have Lucas Moura and Moussa Sissoko back tonight.

Moura (knee) and Sissoko (groin) have been in the treatment room but could return at Stamford Bridge. Dele Alli (hamstring) has joined Harry Kane (ankle) in the treatment room until early March while Son Heung-min is on international duty at the Asian Cup.

Tottenham (4-3-2-1): Gazzaniga; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Sissoko, Dier, Winks; Eriksen, Lamela, Lucas

24 January 2019

As for Mauricio Pochettino, the adoration and praise he receives from his many admirers is always tempered by the fact that he is still yet to win a trophy at Tottenham.

With a new stadium soon to open, the main goals for the club are clearly Champions League qualification and holding on to their key players - but winning the EFL Cup could play a key part in that.

Winning their first trophy under Pochettino would give Spurs' young squad a taste of what is potentially to come in the coming years, and also give them the boost they need to hold onto their top-four spot amid pressure from Arsenal and Manchester United.

However, yet another semi-final failure may only serve to remind Pochettino that amid interest from Man Utd, he may have hit a ceiling at Spurs - especially with such a tight transfer budget as the club transitions to their new home.

24 January 2019

So, tonight's the night for Chelsea and Tottenham.

While neither side would place the EFL Cup at the top of their list for ambitions this season, both Maurizio Sarri and Mauricio Pochettino would jump at the chance to lift this trophy.

Sarri is under pressure after his extraordinary outburst following Chelsea's defeat at Arsenal, claiming his players lacked the right mentality to compete at the top level.

The EFL Cup is most certainly not on the same level as the Premier League title, Champions League or even FA Cup, but a trophy in February could spur on his side for the rest of a season which currently threatens to spiral out of control.

24 January 2019

Welcome to Standard Sport's LIVE coverage of Chelsea vs Tottenham!

We will have all the latest team news, predictions and build-up to tonight's huge EFL Cup semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge, with a final against Man City on offer to the victors.

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