This weekend sees Thomas Frank's Tottenham Hotspur welcome London Rivals, Chelsea, to North London as they look to continue their impressive form in the Premier League. The home side currently sit fourth in the Premier League, with a win being enough to take them to second, albeit depending on other results. They look to build on a strong showing in Merseyside last weekend, where they defeated David Moyes' Everton 3-0.
Standing in their way of a potential three points are Enzo Maresca's Chelsea. The Blues have been hit-and-miss so far this season, with inconsistent being a good word to sum up their season so far. The visitors currently sit 11th in the Premier League, but a win would see them shoot up the table. In fact, a 2-0 win would be enough for the Blues to move above Spurs. Maresca's men will be looking for significant improvement in the defensive performance after a concerning second half in Wolverhampton midweek.
Chelsea have been very tough customers for Spurs in recent seasons, but the hosts will be hoping that their more impressive form will be enough to see Chelsea off back to West London.
Team News:
Tottenham Hotspur:
Spurs have an incredibly high number of players out, but Thomas Frank was able to deliver some good news in his press conference prior to this encounter.
He confirmed that the trio of Wilson Odebert, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie will be ready to play a part in this match. The head coach has remained cryptic on whether any of these three players are ready to feature from the first whistle.
Meanwhile, James Maddison, Archie Gray, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies and Yves Bissouma all remain out of contention.
Chelsea:
The big blow for Chelsea is the absence of Liam Delap. The Englishman was expected to at least play a part in this encounter, but two yellow cards against Wolves midweek mean he is going to have to watch this one unfold from the bench.
Cole Palmer remains out of action but is looking to return to action in around a month as the festive period begins.
Benoit Badiashile, Dario Essugo and Levi Colwill also remain out of contention for the Blues, the latter not expected to feature again this season.
Predicted Lineups:
Tottenham Hotspur:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Palhinha; Kudus, Bergvall, Simons; Kolo Muani
Chelsea:
Sanchez; James, Fofana, Acheampong, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo; Neto, Fernandez, Gittens; Pedro
Key Players:
Tottenham - Micky Van de Ven
Not particularly renowned for his goalscoring, Van de Ven comes into this one fresh off a brace against Everton last weekend. Considering Chelsea's struggles defending set-pieces, he could find the back of the net yet again.
But where he is required, the most in this one, is to stop Chelsea's pacy counterattacks. The Blues are consistently threatening when playing the game at high speed. If Van de Ven can counter this and slow the game down, then he could play a big part in a good result for Tottenham.
Chelsea - Joao Pedro
It feels like the Brazilian really needs a good game for the Blues. Since his electric start at the Club World Cup for Chelsea, it feels like the spark surrounding him has diminished.
The striker has already proved that he can find the back of the net for Chelsea, and what an important game it would be to score in. Maresca's men desperately need a result to climb back up the table, and it feels like Pedro could have a big say in this
Match Details:
Where is the match being played?
This match is being contested at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
What time is kick-off?
This match commences at 17:30 GMT
How can I watch?
Sky Sports is showing this match.