EPL: Agbonlahor backs Chelsea to beat Tottenham as loss of fifth Champions League place may affect Spurs

 Embattled manager Mauricio Pochettino will be bidding to pick up a second win over his former side after Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-1 back in November.

The Blues are aiming to secure a European spot for next season after an underwhelming campaign under the Argentine so far.

As for Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham, a defeat could all but end their hopes of a top-four finish.

Spurs are still in with a chance at securing Champions League football as they have two games in hand over fourth-placed Aston Villa. But with Unai Emery’s side currently seven points out in front, Tottenham need to make the most of their games in hand.

Both sides have been hit and miss in recent weeks, with Spurs suffering consecutive defeats to Newcastle and Arsenal after picking up two wins from three games beforehand.

As for Chelsea, they rescued a point at Villa over the weekend but suffered a 5-0 thrashing at Arsenal last Tuesday after hitting Everton for six at home.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor delivered his verdict on tonight’s London derby at Stamford Bridge.

“I see a Chelsea win, mate,” the former Villa man told Alan Brazil. “I feel that looking at the weekend, Ben Davies struggling, Saka. No Davies tonight, I’m not sure who plays there. But [Noni] Madueke for me was very good against Villa. He’s come into a bit of form.

“Cole Palmer was quiet against Villa, missed that chance late on and he’s going to want to shine again tonight. I’m going to go for a Spurs defeat.”

History certainly favours Chelsea in this fixture as Spurs have picked up just one league win at Stamford Bridge in their last 33 attempts.

That victory came under Pochettino’s guidance back in April 2018, with Dele Alli bagging a brace on the day.

This game is certainly a tough one to call as it’s difficult to know what to expect from either side. Chelsea have undoubtedly been more inconsistent of the two teams as they currently sit in ninth place.

However, this is a game that the Blues always get up for and the Spurs are enduring a tough run of form at the moment.

Meanwhile, Spurs may suffer another huge blow as the Premier League is set to miss out on a fifth Champions League place.

Borussia Dortmund beat PSG 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash to secure a European Performance Spot for Germany.

Uefa is set to award two additional Champions League qualification spots to the two countries that top their co-efficient rankings.

Italy had secured one of the spots while England battled Germany for the second throughout the campaign.

The Bundesliga will now have five teams competing in the Champions League next season thanks to results in recent weeks.

Bayern Munich knocked out Arsenal and West Ham were beaten by Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League last month.

Manchester City also failed to progress against Real Madrid, leaving Aston Villa as the only English club left in Europe after Unai Emery's side beat Lille on penalties in the Europa Conference League.

Villa are on course to qualify for next season's Champions League and are in fourth place in the league - seven points ahead of Spurs having played two games more.

Tottenham could now finish in fifth - a spot they may have thought would have given them a place in the Champions League next season.

Instead, the team that finishes fifth in the Bundesliga will now compete in Europe's premier competition - which could be Dortmund