Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will go head-to-head in the Premier League at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening, with both teams desperate to claim a win over their local rivals.
Thomas Frank's side have had a mixed start to the season and after claiming a 3-0 win over Everton last weekend, they crashed out of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle in midweek. Chelsea, on the other hand, bounced back from their disappointing 2-1 defeat to Sunderland last weekend to defeat Wolves 4-3 in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Both sides have major injury concerns heading into this game however, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expects them to line up.
Tottenham Team News
Spurs are in a bit of an injury crisis currently, with 11 players potentially missing from the game due to injury. James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are long-term absentees with knee injuries, while Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies are likely to only return after the international break.
Wilson Odobert, Archie Gray, Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie, Yves Bissouma and Kota Takai are all battling to return before then but this game is likely to come too soon, while captain Cristian Romero and Wilson Odobert are pushing to return.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Frank shared an injury update on his squad ahead of the game.
"Positive news is that [Cristian] Romero, Destiny [Udogie] and Wilson [Odobert] are available for selection.We'll try to take the best possible decision (with Cuti). Every decision is on me. He is ready to be involved - let's see how much."
"We're very aware that we want Dom [Solanke]back. We want him back and no setbacks. We're very aware of doing it in the right way. It is going in the right way but he won't be back before the international break.
"[Kulusevski] is not back on the grass yet."
Tottenham Predicted XI
Tottenham Predicted XI: Vicario; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Bentancur; Kudus, Bergvall, Tel; Kolo Muani.
Tottenham Predicted Substitutes: Kinsky (GK), Byfield (DEF), Rowswell (DEF), Sarr (MID), Olusesi (MID), Xavi Simons (MID), Odobert (FWD), Richarlison (FWD), Johnson (FWD).
Thomas Frank has some decisions to make with his team with some players underperforming, and that could see Mathys Tel handed a rare start on the left wing as a result.
Summer signing Xavi Simons could find himself on the bench amid his poor performances recently, while Richarlison has seemingly lost his place up front to loanee Randal Kolo Muani, leaving the £270,000-a-week duo on the sidelines.
Chelsea Team News
The Blues are dealing with some injury concerns of their own ahead of this game. Star man Cole Palmer is still absent with a groin problem, and isn't expected to return until December, while Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Mykhailo Mudryk and Dario Essugo are also long-term absentees.
Liam Delap is suspended after his reckless red card in the Carabao Cup in midweek, while Enzo Fernandez, Joao Pedro and Moises Caicedo are not training regularly but should still be available to play.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Maresca shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
"They [Enzo, Caicedo and Pedro] are okay, they are available.
"The reason why Joao didn’t play against Wolves is that we tried to protect him. It was the same thing with Moi and with Enzo; just giving them some minutes [rather than them starting]. But the idea is to protect these players.
"Game by game, we can’t plan with them because of their problems, their situations. So, it's about taking it game-by-game and seeing how many minutes we can use them. We try to use the whole squad because, at this moment, we need the whole squad.
"With Cole [Palmer], it’s the plan is exactly the same. We will wait, and hopefully he can be back soon."
Chelsea Predicted XI
Chelsea Predicted XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; James, Caicedo; Estevao, E. Fernandez, Neto; J. Pedro.
Chelsea Predicted Substitutes: Jorgensen (GK), Tosin (DEF), Acheampong (DEF), Hato (DEF), Andrey Santos (MID), Garnacho (FWD), Gittens (FWD), Guiu (FWD), George (FWD).
With a number of injury issues, Maresca could look to move captain Reece James into midfield once again, while the in-form forward duo Pedro Neto and Estevao should start in attack.