Is Chelsea's anti Tottenham stance set to backfire?

CHELSEA’S desperate anti-Tottenham chorus may have turned tonight's clash into a cup final but they must fear it all blowing up in their face.

Tottenham already had plenty to fight for with a 26-year Stamford Bridge hoodoo to break and a two-point lead over Arsenal to protect.

But the Blues' shameless attitude in the run-up to the game has turned the temperature right up to boiling point and given Mauricio Pochettino's team talk for him.

Eden Hazard proudly announced a fortnight ago that nobody at his club wanted to see Spurs win the Premier League - and that they would do everything they could to stop it happening.

During that 4-1 win at Bournemouth, the Blues fans forgot the performance of their own team to chant "beat f**king Tottenham, you better beat f**king Tottenham" all through the second half.

United's draw with Leicester has kept Poch's title hopes alive and his blue and white army now want to rub their west London neighbours' noses in it.

It is not really clear whether Spurs fans even knew they had a rivalry with Chelsea. The clubs do not like each other but Spurs and Arsenal is the big one for the North London clubs. Chelsea are very much on the fringes of that everlasting feud.

Maybe the Blues are sick of standing on the outside looking in. Maybe want their own rivalry - one that gives a little more spice than their closest foes Fulham - or maybe they just need someone they can exchange insults with on a Monday morning. 

Still, to publicly announce that you do not want another club to win the league is a statement of mammoth proportions - especially when Chelsea play Spurs' title rivals on the season's final day.

If by some slim chance there is still something to play for when Leicester visit Stamford Bridge on May 15, then there will now be massive questions over the Blues' integrity going into the game.

And you can bet Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will be sat watching the game with his lawyers, pawing over every pass, challenge and decision.

Their classless call to arms has turned this clash into a bitter battle for which they are surely ill equipped.

If the Blues' so-called superstars could not motivate themselves to defend their title - or to save the club's most successful boss from the sack, do they really have what it takes to raise their game and treat this like a must-win tie?

Harry Kane and Co may have faltered to a nervy 1-1 draw against West Brom last Monday but Stamford Bridge will be dealing with a different animal tonight.

Spurs will be hell-bent on denying Roman Abramovich's mega-rich flops the satisfaction of hammering the final nail into their title coffin. 

Anything less than a win hands Leicester the crown and Chelsea the chance to gloat.

But even if the Blues do secure the bragging rights, you cannot help think that - with no European football, several unsettled stars and a new manager that once again has to start from scratch, there is really not that much for them to brag about.