Tottenham are a little hard to fathom under new boss Thomas Frank so far.
Clearly there is plenty of good after they ended last weekend third in the table following a 3-0 win at Everton.
But season-ticket holders at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium haven’t had much to celebrate on the Tube home as Spurs’ last three home Premier League games have resulted in a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth, a 1-1 draw with rock-bottom Wolves and a 2-1 reverse against Aston Villa.
Tottenham have the best away record in the top flight but Leeds and Burnley have managed more home wins than Frank’s side so far and even Wolves have scored more goals in front of their home fans.
But if Frank’s side are slightly unpredictable, how about the enigma that is Chelsea?
Inconsistency in the Premier League has left them in mid-table while their last two results perhaps sum it all up: a gut-punch 2-1 home loss to Sunderland followed by a 4-3 Carabao Cup win at Wolves after they’d led 3-0 at the break.
The one constant is that they have a brilliant record in this fixture, especially at Spurs where Chelsea have won five of the last six.
How to watch Spurs v Chelsea
Spurs vs Chelsea kicks off at 17:30 GMT on Saturday, November 1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The game will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting from 4pm.
BBC Radio 5 will provide full match commentary.
Spurs team news
Tottenham still have several definite absentees, with Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusaevski missing, the latter two long-term.
But Wilson Odobert, Christian Romero, Archie Gray and Destiny Udogie are closer to returning and may play a part.
Frank wants more goals at home so will hope Randal Kolo Muani can find his scoring boots after failing to deliver so far.
Spurs expected line-up
(4-2-3-1) Vicario; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Bentancur; Kudus, Xavi, Bergvall; Kolo Muani.
Chelsea team news
Cole Palmer’s continued absence deprives Chelsea of attacking spark and with Joao Pedro firing blanks and Liam Delap suspended after his red card against Wolves, the calls for Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian to be given more game time are growing.
Andrey Santos is also pushing for a start after netting against Wolves and setting up two others while Jamie Gittens is also a contender.
At the back, Reece James still needs his minutes managed but is likely to be given the nod here rather than play next week’s Champions League fixture away to Qarabag.
Chelsea expected line-up
(4-2-3-1) Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Santos, Estevao, Pedro.
Spurs vs Chelsea stats
– Spurs have won just one of their last 13 Premier League games against Chelsea (D2 L10), losing the last four in a row since a 2-0 home win in February 2023.
– Chelsea have won five of their six Premier League games against Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (L1), earning more victories at the ground than any other visiting side.
– Tottenham have won five of their nine Premier League matches this season (D2 L2), as many as they won in their last 26 games under Ange Postecoglou last season (D4 L17).
– Chelsea have lost three of their last five Premier League matches (W2), more than they’d lost in their previous 16 combined (W10 D4 L2).
– Only Arsenal (7) and Chelsea (6) have scored more Premier League goals from corners this season than Tottenham (5), while in the last two seasons only the Gunners (21) have netted more than Spurs (15).
– Chelsea have won four of their last seven away Premier League matches (D1 L2), having gone eight winless on the road beforehand.
– Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has lost just two of his eight Premier League games against Chelsea (W3 D3). However, all three of those victories have come at Stamford Bridge.
– Five of Tottenham’s 17 Premier League goals this season have come via headers (29.4%).
Spurs vs Chelsea predictions
Both these sides have looked better and played more freely on the road so there’s certainly a temptation to go with Chelsea, the marginal 6/4 favourites ahead of 13/8 Spurs.
But the safer bet here is probably goals.
Chelsea have scored 15 times in their latest five matches, including seven in their last two away games, while Tottenham head into this weekend as the Premier League’s joint-highest scorers with Manchester City on 17.
So this could be an evening to have some goalscorer bets.
Tottenham’s joint-top scorer in the Premier League this season is Micky Van de Ven – a surprise but one that has logic given the focus Frank puts on set pieces.
The big defender is worth a punt at 7/1 to score anytime.
For Chelsea, who have scored eight goals in their last two away games at Spurs (4-3 and 4-1 wins), Estevao takes the eye.