Tottenham find themselves in an almost identical position to where they were last season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are the definite underdogs in the title race – only this time, they would be ones creating a fairytale, rather than destroying it, if they were to close the gap.
Spurs have renewed hope after Chelsea lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Lilywhites’ 2-0 win over Burnley has cut the gulf to seven points, but Wednesday night’s fixtures could still have a huge impact.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is remaining calm, at least ostensibly.
In fact, he used his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s game against Manchester City to have a little dig at Spurs over the level of expectation at their respective clubs.
“The difference between Chelsea and Tottenham is this — if you are with Chelsea and win, it’s normal,” he said.
“If you are with Tottenham and win, it’s great.
“But if you lose, it’s not a disaster because you find a lot of situations to explain a good season. Yet in this season, we are at the same level.”
Pochettino will be the first to admit that his side will be happy with second place having never really been within sight of Chelsea.
That said, anything less than three points against Swansea at the Liberty Stadium would be nothing short of a disaster, no matter what Conte says.
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