#4 They’re desperate for revenge
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Last year Tottenham came so-so close to overhauling eventual champions Leicester to take the Premier League title, but fell away at the last hurdle.
That hurdle? A game against Chelsea. While Spurs had already damaged their title hopes with a drab 1-1 draw against West Brom in the previous game, it was the Chelsea game that truly handed the title to Leicester. Needing to win to keep the dream alive, Spurs shot into a two-goal lead in the first half before essentially losing their heads.
Chelsea often skirt close to the edge of the rulebook and on this night Spurs decided to fight fire with fire. The game descended into madness – nine of Tottenham’s players were booked – and Chelsea eventually equalised, handing the title to Leicester and sending Spurs into freefall in their subsequent two games.
Spurs’ biggest rivals will always be Arsenal, but there’s no denying that revenge over Chelsea – by taking the title ahead of them – would be extra sweet. And you can bet that Mauricio Pochettino is telling his players just that in order to pump them up.
