Chelsea meet Spurs in London Derby
By Graham Ruthven
Turning point
Last weekend’s 2-0 win over Everton was Chelsea’s most complete and controlled performance of the Xabi Alonso era so far, building on the 5-1 victory at home to Bournemouth the week before.
The Blues are finding some much-needed stability and could add to their momentum with a third win in a row at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. This would indicate Alonso’s side have truly turned the corner.
Spurs might not be at that stage yet, but Monday’s win over Coventry City hinted they might finally be heading in the right direction under Roberto De Zerbi.
It was certainly their most uplifting result and performance of the season so far with James Maddison making a long-awaited goalscoring return to the lineup. Sandro Tonali was also very impressive in the centre of the pitch.
Chelsea and Spurs have experienced tough times of late, but there is hope on both sides that the dark days are a thing of the past and that Saturday’s match will be a catalyst for greater success.
Key players
Moisés Caicedo and Jordan Henderson have forged an unlikely partnership in central midfield – something we looked at in more depth here – and are expected to continue as Chelsea’s first-choice double pivot after starting in the wins over Bournemouth and Everton.
João Pedro has scored three goals in his last three games, giving Chelsea cutting edge in the final third. The Brazilian will be supported by Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers as dual number 10s.
Levi Colwill and Maxence Lacroix will fill two of the three spots in Chelsea’s backline with Josh Achempong most likely to complete the defensive unit which has been vulnerable in several games this season.
Maddison showed Spurs what they had been missing in his comeback performance against Coventry and the 29-year-old is expected to start again. Without him, Tottenham lack creativity on the ball.
Dominic Solanke will likely lead the line with Mohammed Kudus and Omar Marmoush on the left and right. Meanwhile, Mateus Fernandes could come into the central midfield unit to offer more security on the ball.
Team news
Emi Martínez is recovering from surgery after sustaining a head injury against Everton and so Mike Penders will start in goal for Chelsea. The highly-rated Belgian youngster must step up in the absence of the World Cup winner.
Reece James is sidelined with a knee injury while Pep Chavarrií is a doubt. Otherwise, Alonso has a fully fit and available squad to choose from for the visit of Spurs.
Rodrigo Bentancur will miss Saturday’s match through suspension while Sávio, Xavi Simons, Lucas Bergvall, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Wilson Odobert are also unavailable through injury for Tottenham.
Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie both missed Monday’s win over Coventry City, but could be fit enough to feature in some capacity at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
Dejan Kulusevski made his much-anticipated return from injury against Coventry and could feature against Chelsea, although the Swede won’t be fit enough to start. He will be limited to another cameo off the bench.
Prediction
Spurs have won just one of their last 36 league games at Stamford Bridge, and we think that damning stat might just extend to one in 37: Chelsea 3-1 Tottenham.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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