Chelsea and Tottenham players must not be dragged into Bridge battle again, says Danny Murphy

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Danny Murphy25 November 2016

In a big game like this, it is usually the team with the calmest, coolest players who come out on top.

That is why, despite everything that happened the last time these teams met, it is vital that the players are not drawn into those kinds of battles.

Nine Tottenham men were booked in the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge last May, which handed the title to Leicester, and Spurs midfielder Mousa Dembele got a six-match ban for scratching the eye of Diego Costa.

Antonio Conte was not in charge of Chelsea for that game. Mauricio Pochettino might have had a word individually with one or two players who have short fuses but I imagine that was about it.

Some people would say those individual duels would motivate them more and while it may have that effect for some, I think it’s a load of rubbish.

It happened to me a couple of times and instead of concentrating fully on the game, I found myself looking for the player I had targeted.

Two examples stand out from the past. Playing for Tottenham in the 1991 FA Cup Final against Nottingham Forest, Paul Gascoigne committed a foul that left him with a serious knee injury and he did not play again until September 1992.

Against Everton at Anfield in September 1999, Steven Gerrard was sent off for a bad challenge on Kevin Campbell.

Gascoigne and Gerrard were two of the best English players of modern times but on those occasions, they were simply too pumped up to deliver their best.

The tactical battle, meanwhile, will be fascinating. I have been surprised to see Pochettino tweak his formation as often as he has recently, as players generally like to stick to one model and nail it down.

It takes time to perfect new systems and with the number of games Spurs have, Pochettino does not have that. I’m sure he had a plan in Monaco but it looked as though the players were struggling with it. I expect him to return to the 4-2-3-1 formation that served Spurs so well last season.

Chelsea’s attacking plan is quite simple: get the ball to Eden Hazard and Pedro as soon as possible.

Their movement, and that of Diego Costa, is magnificent. Pedro is brilliant at knowing when to run into space and when to receive the ball to feet. Hazard understands when to stay wide and when to drift into the centre.

Costa can handle the physical battle but he can also spin off his marker and run behind the defence. They are all athletes, too: a midfielder’s dream.

I tipped Chelsea for the title at the start of the season and I expect them to be in the race until the end.

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