Thomas Tuchel has warned Chelsea not to expect a psychological edge over Tottenham after dumping Spurs out of the Carabao Cup.
Chelsea will meet Tottenham for the third time this month in Sunday’s Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues beat their bitter London rivals 3-0 on aggregate across the two-legged League Cup semi-final, but boss Tuchel has rejected any ideas of a mental advantage.
“We have played three matches in such a short time which is pretty unusual and uncommon normally, that is why they know what we do and we know more or less what they do,” said Tuchel.
“But it is another game for us to show up. They will come into this game from a late victory over Leicester which gave them a boost and we came from two wins in the Carabao Cup that should give us some confidence.
“But it is not about having whatever advantages and if we are philosophical about it: we have to deliver and have the right attitude to deliver a top performance.”
Chelsea trail runaway leaders and defending champions Manchester City by 12 points in the Premier League, with any designs on the title surely now faded.
Looking ahead to #CheTot. 👊
More from the boss ahead of Sunday. ⤵️— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 21, 2022
The Blues have already booked their place in the Carabao Cup final and are looking forward to further knockout matches in the FA Cup and Champions League, as well as competing in next months’ Club World Cup.
Even despite the slim chance of Premier League glory though, Tuchel insisted Chelsea will never relent in any contest in order to prioritise others.
“If you play, if you work for Chelsea, you give your very best on a daily basis and that guarantees that you come in the right shape, right attitude, right mentality to games,” said Tuchel.
“The moment when you start judging, start prioritising is the moment you lose track from what brings us to be part of Chelsea.
“Being part of Chelsea is being competitive in every single day, come with the right mindset, come with the right attitude.
“The next game is always the most important. Everything has huge influence.
“With me, we will never start prioritising. We will never start judging the importance of games.
“We will select teams and make sure the process and atmosphere is right on a daily basis. That we can increase the chances to win games. This is what we do.”
