The biggest game of the weekend is, of course, the London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham. Saturday sees these two bitter rivals go head to head once again as third plays fourth at Wembley Stadium.
Chelsea remain the only undefeated side in the whole of Europe, but that record comes under pressure against Spurs, who have won their last four games in all competitions. Team news for both teams coming up.
This fixture last year saw Chelsea came away with all three points from Wembley courtesy of a Marcos Alonso double. A wonderful free kick in the first half opened the scoring as Chelsea defended very deep for the majority of the match. Chelsea were missing Gary Cahill, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard for the match and fielded Tiémoué Bakayoko – who hadn’t even completed 90 minutes in pre-season prior to the game. Spurs pressured for most of the second half and the pressure told when Michy Batshuayi headed into his own net from an Eriksen free kick in the 82nd minute. Chelsea launched an attack in the dying minutes with David Luiz giving the ball to Pedro who played Alonso through who finished hard and low under Lloris to give Chelsea a late victory.
Tottenham are likely to be without Davinson Sanchez, who missed the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace with a hamstring injury. Lamela and Foyth will return late from international duty in Mexico for Argentina. Both are likely to arrive on Friday, meaning they definitely won’t be starting but may make the bench. Christian Eriksen is likely to feature, however, after only completing 45 minutes for Denmark midweek. But Moussa Dembele continues to be unavailable after his injury will keep him out until the New Year. However, players expected to start are Alli, Kane, Son, Lucas, Alderweireld and Sissoko meaning a strong looking Spurs team.
Chelsea have no injury concerns from the international break. Kovacic wasn’t risked in the UEFA Nations League meaning he should be available to start in midfield. Ethan Ampadu was injured for Wales loss to Albania and didn’t travel. Therefore, Maurizio Sarri should have a full squad to choose from for the Saturday Evening Clash.
The last five meetings between Chelsea and Spurs in all competitions are as follows:
Chelsea W – 3 Spurs W – 2 Draw – 0
Chelsea 1-3 Tottenham – 01/04/2018
Tottenham 1-2 Chelsea – 20/08/2017
Chelsea 4-2 Tottenham – 22/04/2017
Tottenham 2-0 Chelsea – 04/01/2017
Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham – 26/11/2016
