Chelsea manager Emma Hayes believes that latest opponents Tottenham Hotspur won’t give a lot away in their defensive third and her own side will need to be patient for their rewards.
The Blues face Spurs at Kingsmeadow tomorrow night and they will go top of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table for the first time this season with a win.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time ahead of the match, Hayes highlighted how little Spurs have given their opponents this season whilst emphasising the need to be patient.
“You have to break them down first of all, they don’t have two centre-backs who stay very central,” Hayes said. “They’re very compact in a 4-4-2 and they are very narrow so there aren’t a lot of spaces between the lines. They give away around 0.87 xG per game so less than one big chance per game, this is a team who have been consistently solid all of the time.
“Patience is critical because you are not going to get many chances. We have to stay in the game for as long as we can like we did against Aston Villa and have the conviction when the big chances come, although they will be few and far between.”
Spurs may need to get a result at Kingsmeadow to stay in the hunt for European qualification. Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow night’s match, Hayes still believes that the North Londoners have had an exceptional campaign.
She said “They’ve had an amazing season and they will play a major part in where the title ends up. It has been a remarkable year for them regardless of where they finish.
“They are a group that won’t give up, they are being consistent with everything that they are doing. We know what a really tough game we have tomorrow night.”
Chelsea’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur at Kingsmeadow kicks-off at 7.45pm tomorrow night.