Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea in the Premier League today as they look to maintain their strong start to the season.
Spurs come into the weekend in the Champions League having won 3-0 away to Everton last weekend. Chelsea, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 at home by newly promoted Sunderland and could finish the day in the bottom half.
Kick-off: 5.30pm UK, 1.30pm ET, 10.30am PT
Watch: Sky Sports (UK); Peacock (U.S.)
Get in touch: live@theathletic.com
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Thomas Frank reserved special praise for the job done by his opposite number at Stamford Bridge,
💬 “Enzo's done an amazing job at Chelsea. First season, qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Conference League, so competing in definitely more than one front.
“They won the Club World Cup and had a decent start to the season — very impressive. It was very clear what he and his staff want to achieve, how they want to play.
“It's going to be a nice, good challenge, another nice, good challenge in the Premier League against a very good manager and a very good team.”
Enzo Maresca has decided to make 10 changes to his starting line-up again with Malo Gusto the only one to keep his place from the victory over Wolves in midweek.
Given the way that Jamie Gittens and Estevao impressed at Molineux, it is a little surprising that the Italian has not gone with the two widemen in better form. In saying that, Pedro Neto's reliability to help track back is surely a factor why he has been included again, while Alejandro Garnacho did get his first goal for Chelsea versus Sunderland last week.
Joao Pedro is expected to start up front, with recent back-up options Tyrique George and Marc Guiu on the bench. Liam Delap is not an option of course due to suspension. Meanwhile Wesley Fofana starts his first game in three having been an unused substitute in the previous two fixtures.
We are only moments away from both line-ups being revealed.
Will Thomas Frank pack the midfield to contain the visitors? Has Estevao's recent form warranted a start?
Just a couple of minutes until we find out — don't go anywhere!
For the past two seasons, Chelsea supporters have worried where the flair will come from if Cole Palmer was not in the side.
Palmer has been the difference-maker since joining from Manchester City in 2023 but is currently sidelined with a troublesome groin injury that is expected to keep him out for another five weeks.
But Estevao has kept everyone enthralled. This is the kind of player that gets people out of their seats. Scoring the late winner against Liverpool earlier this month did wonders to cement his popularity.
You can now hear chants of “Estevao, uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh” to the tune of the 1975 hit That’s the Way (I like it) by KC and the Sunshine Band.
Thomas Frank and his coaching staff deserve a lot of credit for tightening up the defence, but the supporters are becoming frustrated with the side’s struggles to create chances from open play.
Mohammed Kudus has made an immediate impact, but it is taking Xavi Simons longer to settle.
The biggest issue is the pairing of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur in central midfield. Fans want to see Frank be more adventurous by dropping one of them and regularly starting Lucas Bergvall or Pape Matar Sarr instead.
The half-time whistle has gone in all five of today's 3pm kick-offs in the Premier League and we have had a goal in each of them.
Arsenal look to maintaining their lead at the top of the table as they are two goals ahead against Burnley, while the good times keep rolling for Ruben Amorim and Manchester United as they lead away to Nottingham Forest.
Elsewhere, Brighton and Crystal Palace are a goal to the good at home, as are Fulham against 10-man Wolves.
HT: Brighton 1-0 Leeds (Welbeck)
HT: Burnley 0-2 Arsenal (Gyokeres, Rice)
HT: Crystal Palace 1-0 Brentford (Mateta)
HT: Fulham 1-0 Wolves (Sessegnon)
HT: Nottingham Forest 0-1 Manchester United (Casemiro)
That is the big question, with Enzo Maresca’s side putting in a good display in big matches like the win against Liverpool earlier in October but struggling against newly promoted Sunderland last time out.
The best and worst of Chelsea has been on show of late. They consistently struggle against teams using the low block and looking for the counter.
But they are also motivated by their ‘underdog’ status and are capable of outfighting their opponent.
They could need plenty of fight in today's clash of two London rivals.
It is difficult, when you look at the Premier League table, to argue with Thomas Frank’s record at Tottenham Hotspur so far.
Nine games into the new season, they sat in third place. Even if you think it is too early to glean clear lessons from the table, the evidence of those nine games is promising.
But there have arguably been as many bad performances as good ones. Their home league games have been miserable since the Burnley win on opening day.
Football is not just about numbers and outcomes. Fans want to enjoy the process too.
One of the biggest questions at the start of Chelsea’s season was how they would cope without Levi Colwill. Nine games into the Premier League campaign, that is still the case.
After nine games of this campaign, Chelsea are one of two clubs to have used five different starting centre-back combinations in the Premier League (also Burnley). Chelsea have used seven in all competitions.
Enzo Maresca is trying to create a Chelsea team that balances experience with youth, confidence and flair with reliability — ideally, the centre of defence would be one of the first bricks laid.
Right now, while he does have promising options to call on, his go-to partnership remains unclear.
We are 24 per cent of the way through the 2025-26 Premier League season and one team look to be a cut above the rest so far.
Spurs fans in particular will be hoping that current leaders and biggest rivals Arsenal can still be reigned in. Could it be Thomas Frank’s side?
Or how about second-placed Bournemouth or anyone in the top half of the table, including Chelsea?
We got our writers to make a case for each team up to ninth place (after match week nine results) who could stop Mikel Arteta’s men from lifting the title.
Read more below.
No early kick-off for us to enjoy in the Premier League today, but it's a busy afternoon.
Five matches started a few minutes ago and there are another two later on.
No goals just yet, but we'll keep you updated with the scores over the next couple of hours.
All times GMT
Tottenham became the first Premier League side to come away from Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium with three points with victory last time out in the league.
Micky van de Ven scored twice to put them in a commanding position in the match and Pape Matar Sarr secured the win late on as Spurs went third in the table.
A decent start to life in north London for Thomas Frank.
We want to hear from you, be it a comment, question, observation or something else.
Can Spurs finish in the top four this season? Is Enzo Maresca on borrowed time if Chelsea’s league form does not improve? And who do you think is going to win today?
Let us know at our email: live@theathletic.com and we may feature what we receive in our coverage.
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Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Lauded as one of the best stadia in Europe since its completion in 2019, the stadium has a capacity of 62,850.
Also a home for NFL games in the UK, Spurs’ stadium has also been used as a concert venue as well as hosting all of their home matches.