Chelsea welcome Spurs to Stamford Bridge on Sunday and manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that the high temperatures in the UK could affect his tactics.
Temperatures could hit 35 degrees C in London on Sunday, and it’s pretty clear the Chelsea boss is very much concerned with this so he will definitely take this factor into consideration when giving instructions to his players.
“I’m not at the stage (where) the weather forecast influences my starting XI, but we accept this kind of heat has a physical effect on the players. In a stadium it can feel even worse, so it will be quite challenging,” Tuchel admitted on Friday.
“It is also a matter of how much you want it, because it will feel very difficult. It’s a question of who has the ability to play through the pain.”
While Antonio Conte has also admitted that such high temperatures in London are not common but for the Spurs such numbers are not unheard of.
Conte said: “In Italy we have 40 or 42 degrees, especially where I was born in Lecce we sometimes touch 45 and we are used to this temperature. But I understand for London it is unusual.”
Will Chelsea change their game-plan on Sunday?
The UK is going through the latest heatwave but we don’t think Antonio Conte’s tactics will be affected due to this.
The Blues! 📸 pic.twitter.com/DImS4uUZA9
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 12, 2022
He’s properly conditioned his players during pre-season and since it’s a 16:30 kick-off, Conte will ask his players to play the same heavy-metal brand of football that they used against Southampton last weekend.
However, the Chelsea manager is likely to take a more cautious approach because players such as Thiago Silva and Azpilicueta won’t be able to play aggressive football for the full 90 minutes under such extreme conditions.
Thankfully, five substitutions can be made now and we are confident both the manager will use their full quota if they are really eager to pick up all three points on Sunday.
This is a home game for Chelsea so the onus will be on them to pick up a win but even a draw won’t be such a bad result for them.
