Football.London

Every word from Enzo

Enzo Maresca was also on press conference duty on Friday as he previewed the Tottenham game.

Chelsea reporter Bobby Vincent was in attendance at the club's Cobham training base and put questions to the Blues boss.

In his latest press conference, Maresca spoke about the title race, Club World Cup, injury news, Ange Postecoglou and so much more.

Click here for a full transcript of every word Maresca had to say.

Triple suspension risk

Three Tottenham players are going to have to tread very carefully in Premier League games before 2024 comes to a close.

As we are now not that far off the halfway point of the campaign, the cut-off point to receive a one-match ban for five yellow cards is almost upon us.

Yves Bissouma, who had to serve a suspension for the offence last season, is now on four yellow cards after receiving a caution in the midweek loss at Bournemouth.

Read here.

Predicted Chelsea team

Enzo Maresca is expected to shuffle his pack for today's match against Tottenham after making a handful of changes to his team in midweek at Southampton.

That means a number of his side should be fairly fresh to take on Spurs in the capital.

Our man Bobby Vincent has named his predicted Chelsea team right here.

Agree?

Predicted Tottenham team

Ange Postecoglou has a few big calls to make when it comes to selecting his Tottenham team to face Chelsea.

Spurs are so short at centre-back right now and all fans will have their fingers crossed that Cristian Romero is in a position to return.

You can find out Alasdair Gold's predicted team by clicking here.

TV channel

Tottenham and Chelsea fans not making the trip to north London this afternoon will still be able to watch all the action live on TV in the UK.

Sky Sports main event and Sky Sports Premier League is the place to be, with live coverage commencing at 4pm following the conclusion of the match between Fulham and Arsenal.

Alternatively, you can keep with us right here in our live matchday blog for all the action from the London derby clash.

Welcome

Good afternoon and welcome to football.london's live coverage of the London derby clash between Tottenham and Chelsea.

It is a huge game for both sides in N17 and we could possibly be in for another classic after last season's five-goal thriller at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Keep with us over the next few hours as we bring you all the latest ahead of the 4.30pm kick-off.

Tottenham and Chelsea go head-to-head in the Premier League later today, with the London rivals having very different starts to the season so far.

Chelsea continued their impressive form of late with a 5-1 win over Southampton midweek, leaving the Blues second in the league and just seven points off top spot following Liverpool's 3-3 draw with Newcastle. On the other hand, Spurs fell to a 1-0 defeat against Bournemouth, leaving Ange Postecoglou's side in 10th with one win from their last six games across all competitions.

Spurs versus Chelsea is synonymous with being one of the best fixtures in the Premier League calendar. Last season it was the Blues who won both meetings between the two, including the 4-1 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which was one of the games of the season.

Cristian Romero is set to return for Spurs on Sunday, while Reece James and Wesley Fofana remain out for Enzo Maresca's side. So, who will come out on top in this one? Let's take a look.

We simulated Tottenham vs Chelsea to get a score prediction

To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.

We predict that Tottenham could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Forster; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.

We predict that the visitors could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Sanchez; Caicedo, Colwill, Badiashile, Cucurella; Lavia, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.

Spurs started on the front foot at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and nine minutes in, they were awarded a penalty when Dejan Kulusevski knocked the ball past Romeo Lavia before being tripped in the box. Heung-Min Son stepped up to take, and he fired his shot into the roof of the net to give Spurs an early lead.

The pressure continued from the hosts as they looked to build on their momentum, and they almost grabbed a second when Robert Sanchez made a great save to deny Dominic Solanke from close range. Chelsea were struggling, and just before the 20-minute mark, Son managed to grab his and Spurs' second.

Pape Sarr dispossessed Marc Cucurella just inside the Spurs half before sliding a pass through for Son, with the winger surging past Levi Colwill to break through on goal. After the defender recovered, the winger cut onto his right before wrapping his foot around the ball and curling a fantastic shot into the top corner for 2-0.

After doubling their lead, Postecoglou's side got complacent, allowing Chelsea to see more of the ball and gain some confidence. The Blues took full advantage of this, and just before the break, they halved the deficit.

Jadon Sancho drifted into the middle of the pitch as Chelsea started to build an attack, and the Englishman played a lovely one-two with Cole Palmer before running in behind Spurs' high line to go one-on-one with the 'keeper. Sancho chopped onto his left when under pressure before driving the ball into the far corner, setting up a tense second half.

Chelsea should've had an equaliser with 20 minutes to go when Pedro Neto put the ball on a plate for Palmer inside the box, but very unlike the Englishman, he scuffed hit shot, dragging the ball wide of the target from a few yards out. The final 10 minutes saw Maresca's side throw everything they had at Spurs, but the hosts defended well to hold out for a much-needed three points against their London rivals.

Tottenham face a big London derby on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Chelsea to N17.

Spurs followed up their 4-0 win at Manchester City with draws against Roma and Fulham before falling to defeat at Bournemouth on Thursday night. Ange Postecoglou's frustration with his side's inconsistency was clear at the Vitality Stadium in midweek and he will be looking for them to bounce back against an in-form Chelsea side that sit second in the Premier League table as the closest challengers to Liverpool.

The Tottenham boss still has Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore and the suspended Rodrigo Bentancur all out with Ben Davies added to that list after picking up a hamstring injury in the second half at Bournemouth.

Cristian Romero was at least due to return to training at Hotspur Way from his toe injury on Saturday ahead of the game and the Argentine's fitness will be tested thoroughly to see whether he can come straight back into the Spurs line-up with Radu Dragusin the only fit centre-back otherwise.

Postecoglou has other decisions to make in midfield and attack with players out of form in recent matches and some having played plenty of minutes across the last week.

Here's the Tottenham team we reckon the Australian could go with against Enzo Maresca's men.

Tottenham have played 14 games in the Premier League season and throughout they have been consistently inconsistent. Six wins have been cancelled out by six defeats, with two draws thrown in.

Good results against the bigger teams like Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa, have been followed by dismal defeats to Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town and Bournemouth.

With fierce rivals Chelsea to visit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, supporters may be thinking and hoping the Spurs of playing against the better sides will turn up to secure all three points. They certainly need it, as defeat could see them drop even further down the Premier League table.

Ange Postecoglou has an attacking philosophy with Spurs enjoying plenty of possession in matches. The problem they have found in many games is that they have not known what to do with that possession when it comes to the final third.

That is despite Spurs having the fourth-best goalscoring record in the top-flight this season.

With Chelsea visiting N17 on Sunday afternoon, with the game live on Sky Sports, Postecoglou may have to have a rethink about his plans and attacking setup.

Spurs enjoyed just 42% possession in their game with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and won 4-0. their next worst possession stats came at home to Brentford (48%). They won that game 3-1.

And it is a common theme. Spurs had 51% possession against Aston Villa (4-1 win) and against Fulham (1-1 draw). They also had 57% possession against West Ham and won 3-1.

According to Opta, in their seven worst games for possession, Spurs average 2.13 points per game. that contrasts astonishingly with just 0.6 points per game from the games where they've had the most possession.

Chelsea average 56% possession in their Premier League games this season, so we may well see Spurs have less of the ball than they normally do, which could be perfect in a big game for Postecogou and his players.

Tottenham have an injury crisis on their hands, particularly in defence. Micky van de Ven is on the treatment table, although has returned to training and could be back soon.

Cristian Romero has also been out, but there is hope he can return to the field for the game with Chelsea on Sunday, while Ben Davies limped off with a hamstring injury in the defeat to Bournemouth on Thursday night.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario remains sidelined with a broken ankle, while Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore are out of action, with Rodrigo Bentancur sitting out with a seven-game suspension.

Ange Postecoglou has not had a good time of it and with Spurs sitting tenth in the Premier League table, he could do with reinforcements. January cannot come soon enough.

The Spurs head coach has openly admitted he will be looking to make signings in January, though he did focus in on the frontline. When asked if he would look to make a signing in January, he said: "Yeah, there is no doubt because when you add Wilson to that, even Mikey, we had Dom [Solanke] out at the weekend, you hope that alleviates.

"So it's something we're aware of and need to plan for."

But Spurs could do worse than look to a player they were linked with signing six years ago to help with their injury crisis at the other end of the field.

Ben Chilwell was heavily linked with Spurs in 2018 before signing a new deal to stay at Leicester City. He was linked again before he signed for Chelsea for £50million in 2020.

Chilwell will cost considerably less than that now, given he has been bombed out at Stamford Bridge under new head coach Enzo Maresca. He does not appear to have a future in west London under the Italian and could be available for as little as £25million.

Spurs need cover at the back, that is for sure and with Davies out of action now, Destiny Udogie does not have a natural replacement should he need a rest or should he suffer an injury. Djed Spence can play there, but is more effective at right-back, while Micky van de Ven can do likewise, but is better served in the centre of defence.

Spurs could do worse than add Chilwell to their ranks in January for a cut-price deal. He has a wealth of Premier League experience, can get up and down the left-hand side and would look to prove Maresca wrong and shine at another top-six club.

There's the potential for things to get a whole lot worse for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham when it comes to absent players. Already missing a host of stars due to injury and suspension, the north London club received another major blow in Thursday evening's 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth.

Ben Davies had to make way on 62 minutes with what appeared to be a hamstring issue and Postecoglou mentioned after the game that the defender will now be out for a period of time. Already extremely short at centre-back due to Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven's respective injuries, Archie Gray finished the game alongside Radu Dragusin after initially starting the game as a right-back.

Tottenham need to bounce back this weekend but they have the small matter of in-form Chelsea making the trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The last thing Spurs need right now given their form is for more players to join some of their teammates watching on from the stands.

There is now the possibility of Yves Bissouma doing exactly that before the month is out after he received a caution in the Bournemouth loss. The midfielder was shown a yellow card for a cynical foul on Justin Kluivert as the Dutchman tried to start a counter down the right flank in the first half of the game at the Vitality Stadium.

Bissouma is now on four yellow cards in the Premier League for the season, meaning he is one away from receiving a one-match ban. As ever, players who receive a total of five yellow cards in their first 19 fixtures will be given a one-match suspension.

Tottenham have a further five league games to play before they pass the halfway stage of the season, with their home showdown against Wolves on Sunday, December 29 their 19th league game of 2024/25. A booking in one of the next five league fixtures for Bissouma and he will receive a one-match suspension as a result.

It means the Mali international will be walking the disciplinary tightrope against Chelsea, Southampton, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Wolves.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Van de Ven are also in the same boat as their teammate at present as they each have four yellow cards to their name. The former is currently serving a seven-match domestic suspension but he is due to return against Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day unless Spurs are successful with their appeal to reduce the length of his ban.

Bentancur will find himself back on the touchline upon his return if he is to receive a yellow card against either Forest or Wolves. A possible one-match ban for Van de Ven will all depend on when exactly he returns to the Tottenham squad from his current hamstring injury.

Spurs will certainly be hoping to have him back sooner rather than later as they have very few options at centre-back right now. Dejan Kulusevski is next in line behind the aforementioned trio on three bookings for the season in the Premier League.

Today’s Premier League fixture at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest is scheduled to go ahead as planned.

The club will continue to consult the relevant authorities throughout the day and will update supporters immediately if anything changes.

We understand that fan travel will be disrupted by the weather so this fixture will not be included in the minimum number of games a season that season tickets must be used.

The news came early on Saturday morning that the Merseyside Derby between Everton and Liverpool had been postponed. The big match of the weekend and always one of the most highly-anticipated games in the football calendar, has fallen foul of the weather.

There were warnings earlier in the week of a 57-hour snow blizzard hitting the UK, but it is not snow that has caused the postponement of the Merseyside Derby, instead Storm Darragh.

A statement from the Premier League read: "The postponement is as a consequence of severe bad weather and high winds from Storm Darragh. High winds overnight have also resulted in severe travel disruption in and around Merseyside.

"Following a Safety Advisory Group meeting at Goodison Park, attended by officials from both clubs, as well as representatives from Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council this morning, it was decided that, due to the risk to safety in the local area and the amber severe wind warning that remains in place until 06:00 GMT on Sunday, today’s fixture should be postponed on safety grounds."

The only other game in the northern part of the country to take place today in the Premier League is at Old Trafford, where Manchester United take on Nottingham Forest in the 5.30pm kick-off.

But what does the storm mean for our London clubs? All three of the big clubs - Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham play on Sunday, with Arsenal making the short trip to Fulham and Spurs and Chelsea facing off against one another at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The storm is due to pass by then and is not expected to hit the South as hard as the North anyway, so both games should go ahead as planned.

Brentford and Crystal Palace are both at home on Saturday to Newcastle and Manchester City respectively. There is a yellow weather warning in place for wind, with gusts of 40mph to 50mph expected.

Ange Postecoglou has offered some hope that Cristian Romero could possibly feature for Tottenham in Sunday's Premier League encounter against Chelsea. Spurs are currently without a number of key players at present and the injury list is only increasing in size.

Ben Davies was the latest to limp off with a hamstring injury on Thursday after making way in the 62nd minute of Tottenham's defeat against Bournemouth. Tottenham are so short at centre-back at present and it resulted in Archie Gray finishing the game alongside Radu Dragusin at the heart of defence.

Romero has missed Tottenham's last three games with a foot issue but he is now due to return to training ahead of this weekend's London derby clash against Chelsea. Speaking to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday morning, Postecoglou provided an update on Davies and indicated that they will see where Romero is in regards to his fitness on Saturday.

"Ben too early again [to tell], he'll go for a scan today," said the Australian. "Cuti is due to train, we're not doing much today but we'll see tomorrow."

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham byclicking here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Tottenham have no time to sit and lick their wounds after their defeat at Bournemouth as a big derby clash with Chelsea follows hot on its heels.

Spurs will welcome Enzo Maresca's in-form and second-placed Blues side to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon looking to bounce back from another frustrating defeat, this time at the hands of the Cherries on Thursday evening at the Vitality Stadium.

There were further squad problems for Ange Postecoglou as he lost Ben Davies in the second half of the game to a hamstring injury which meant in that moment he had eight players out of action and the spine of his team missing. He will be hoping that at least one returns this weekend.

With that in mind we asked our two Tottenham correspondents Alasdair and Rob Guest what team they reckon Postecoglou should select to face Chelsea on Sunday. Here's what they came up with.

Alasdair Gold - Tottenham Hotspur correspondent

Cristian Romero is likely to only have one day of training after weeks out but Tottenham need him to play, with Radu Dragusin their only fit centre-back now. It would be a big ask to throw Archie Gray out of position into the middle of the defence against such a free-scoring Chelsea attack.

Elsewhere, Son Heung-min and Pedro Porro will come back into the side and there's the chance Postecoglou could bring in Timo Werner to bump up the number of fresh legs against a Chelsea side that not only played most of their match at Southampton with a numerical advantage but also have a day extra to recover.

James Maddison and Brennan Johnson could both be candidates for dropping to the bench and Postecoglou must find the balance between creativity and work rate, something that has proved easier said than done at times this season.

Gold's team: Forster; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.

Rob Guest - Football writer

Postecoglou really could do with making changes to his Tottenham team to face Chelsea but his options are severely limited. The first change he will have to make is by bringing someone into the team in place of the injured Ben Davies.

Postecoglou gave fans a glimmer of hope in his pre-match press conference that Cristian Romero could possibly be in a position to return and the World Cup winner should go straight into the side if available. If not, Archie Gray will probably be the man to partner Radu Dragusin unless Micky van de Ven miraculously returns to full fitness.

In midfield, Dejan Kulusevski could drop back into the middle three in order to bring Son Heung-min into the side. That in turn will see James Maddison drop out of the XI and Brennan Johnson shift over to the right flank.

Guest's team: Forster; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.