Metro.co.uk

Chelsea have another chance to prove their Premier League title credentials in a huge London derby against Tottenham this weekend.

While much of the talk has centered on Manchester City’s fall from grace, Chelsea have quietly gone about their business in thrilling fashion and are currently in second place, level on points with Arsenal and seven behind league leaders Liverpool.

Enzo Maresca has routinely changed his entirely starting XI for midweek European games this season and made seven changes against Southampton midweek.

It paid off brilliantly as the Blues cruised to a 5-1 win Christopher Nkunku among the goal scorers.

Nicolas Jackson was given the night off but will be expected to return to the starting XI at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where he scored a hat-trick last season.

Noni Madueke has been part of Maresca’s relatively settled attacking unit this season but the Chelsea coach took aim at the winger on Wednesday night.

Despite scoring and starting against Saints, Maresca accused the winger of taking his foot off the gas as soon as he ‘scores or assists’, dropped from the side last weekend as a result.

Elsewhere, Levi Colwill was also rested midweek and will likely return this weekend but Cheslea are still to provide a precise timeline on Wesley Fofana’s return after he was forced off against Villa.

Maresca’s comments have suggested he may not play again this year but both Benoit Badiashile and Tosin Aarabioyo have proven to be capable deputies, with Axel Disasi also playing the full 90 minutes for the first time in the league this season midweek.

Reece James meanwhile also remains sidelined after picking up a fresh hamstring injury.

Predicted Chelsea XI to face Tottenham

Sanchez, Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Neto, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson

Where to watch Tottenham vs Chelsea? Kick off time and TV channel

Tottenham vs Chelsea kicks off at 4:30pm on Sunday 8 December.

More Trending

The match will be available to watch live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event. Subscribers can also live stream the match on Sky Go and NOW TV.

Arrow MORE: Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler plans to end surprisingly awful Fulham record

Arrow MORE: Manchester United announce death of club icon Kath Phipps aged 85

Robert Sanchez may have been dropped for Chelsea’s win over Southampton on Wednesday, but Enzo Maresca says he is the only guaranteed starter when the Blues face Tottenham this weekend.

Filip Jorgensen was in goal against the Saints as Chelsea romped to a 5-1 win at St Mary’s.

Goals from Axel Diasasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho kept up Chelsea’s impressive recent form and heaped more pain on bottom of the table Southampton.

Maresca mixed things up from his more regular Premier League starting XI as Nicolas Jackson, Levi Colwill and Pedro Netro also had to settle for places on the bench.

However, it is Sanchez who he has confirmed will definitely play at Tottenham on Sunday, while keeping the rest of his team a mystery.

Asked if Jorgensen could keep his place at Spurs, Maresca said: ‘That day we are going to play Sanchez and 10 players. The only one that is sure is Sanchez.’

Chelsea are the top-scorers in the Premier League as they took their tally to 31 in 14 games, but while the Italian was pleased with their performance in front of goal he wasn’t thrilled with the display in its entirety.

‘I’m very happy with the five we scored but I’m not happy about the first 10 or 15 minutes when we struggled,’ he said. ‘The reason why we struggled is because we prepared the game to press them man-to-man but in the first 15 or 20 minutes, we were not pressing them man-to-man.

‘This is a team that if you don’t go man-to-man, then you struggle to recover the ball.

‘Then after that, we adjusted that and the game was much better. But we could score more, but five goals is enough.’

Maresca’s side is exceeding expectations so far this season, sitting second in the table, with just two defeats in 14 outings.

‘The results help a lot, and calm down the noise around the club,’ he said. ‘It’s a good feeling to see the fans happy after the last two years when many things happened. You can see now the feeling from them is good.’

Arrow MORE: Declan Rice reveals why Bukayo Saka would be ‘fuming’ after Arsenal beat Man Utd

Arrow MORE: Mikel Arteta disagrees with Ian Wright ‘worry’ over Arsenal star after beating Manchester United

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has appeared to aim a subtle dig at Arsenal and Spurs’ other Premier League rivals over injury complaints.

Arsenal and Manchester City have portioned some of the blame for poor results this term on injuries to key stars, including Martin Odegaard and Rodri.

Spurs are in the middle of an injury crisis themselves with centre-back duo Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both missing Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Fulham.

Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin started for the third time in a week but Postecoglou is refusing to use injuries as an excuse like others teams do.

‘I’ve seen so much violin-playing over [other teams having] one centre-back out, but we’re just supposed to get on with it,’ Postecoglou said.

The Spurs head coach then added: ‘Benny and Radu have been outstanding throughout this spell.

‘I mean there aren’t too many teams in the league who have both their centre-backs out. The beauty of it is these boys are, and I love that.

‘I love the characters they’re showing. I love the fact that they’re not seeking excuses or wanting me to make allowances for it.

‘But at some point, I need to also acknowledge the massive effort that all these guys are putting in. Radu and Ben were outstanding again.’

Spurs find themselves seventh in the Premier League table after their opening 13 games of the season.

They are five points behind north London rivals Arsenal, who currently sit in second place.

The next north London derby takes place next month as Arsenal host Spurs at the Emirates on January 15.

Arsenal beat Spurs 1-0 away from home when the sides last met in September, with Gabriel Magalhães scoring the only goal of the match.

Arrow MORE: Man Utd enter ‘initial concrete talks’ to sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting

Arrow MORE: Paul Merson makes prediction for Arsenal vs Man Utd Premier League showdown

Tottenham are missing a number of players through injury and picked up a couple more minor issues on Sunday as Archie Gray limped out of the clash with Fulham and Dominic Solanke missed out through illness.

Spurs took the lead in north London through Brennan Johnson but Tom Cairney equalised for the visitors and the game finished 1-1.

Solanke would have been involved but was ill when he reported for duty on Sunday and was sent home.

‘Doesn’t help,’ Postecoglou said of the striker’s absence. ‘That on top of Richy [Richarlison] being out, Wilson [Odobert] being out, Mikey Moore being out.

‘It leaves us pretty thin up top and we’re trying to manage that process.’

On whether the England forward will be fit to face Bournemouth on Thursday night, the Australian said: ‘I hope so.

‘He trained yesterday, came in today but didn’t look well at all so we sent him home. It’s obviously an illness, not an injury so we just need to see how he settles down the next couple of days, but hopefully it’s nothing too significant.’

Spurs are short in attack and defence, with first choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both sidelined.

On whether Romero could return against the Cherries, Postecoglou said: ‘Potentially, but he still hasn’t trained with the team. He’s getting closer but still hasn’t trained with the team.

‘Him and Micky are still working with the sports science staff, so hopefully not too far away.’

Summer signing Archie Gray came off the bench against Fulham late in the game and had to be taken off just a few minutes later.

‘He got a knock, a bit of a dead leg,’ said his manager. ‘Hopefully it’s nothing too significant.’

The Spurs boss cut a frustrated figure, but not with his players’ efforts, more the injury situation and workload his squad is facing.

‘If people don’t understand what we are dealing with at the moment and how the players are coping with it, I think it’s fairly self evident,’ he said.

‘We are going to have to have days like today where things are not running smoothly. All you can ask is for the players to give everything and I think they did that and more today.’

Arrow MORE: ‘It’s bad news’ – Enzo Maresca reveals ‘big’ Chelsea injury after Aston Villa win

Arrow MORE: Ruben Amorim thanks Ruud van Nistelrooy for improving ‘explosive’ Man Utd star after Everton win

Dominic Solanke is not in the Tottenham squad for their clash with Fulham on Sunday afternoon due to illness.

The 27-year-old has scored four Premier League goals so far this season and six in all competitions since his summer move from Bournemouth.

His form has seen him return to the England squad, having not played for his country since his debut in 2017, coming off the bench against Greece in October and Ireland last month.

However, he won’t be involved in north London on Sunday afternoon against the Cottages, with Sky Sports reporting that he is suffering with illness.

Manager Ange Postecoglou explained the absence, saying: ‘He came in today and he wasn’t looking the best, just under the weather.

‘So we just sent him home. Hopefully a full recovery now ahead of the next one.’

Timo Werner comes into the starting XI in his absence, with Son Heung-min, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison completing the front four.

Postecoglou is struggling with injuries at the back, with Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero all out. Fraser Forster plays in goal, with Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin at centre-back.

Dejan Kulusevski has to settle for a place on the bench despite his fine form this season, with Postecoglou managing his game time amid a busy period.

Spurs go to Bournemouth on Thursday and then host Chelsea next Sunday, with nine matches in total coming up in December.

A win over Fulham could see Tottenham climb to as high as fifth in the Premier League table if other results go their way.

Arrow MORE: Roy Keane slams Man City star who is ‘getting away with murder’

Arrow MORE: Why is Manchester United vs Everton not on a TV channel or live stream?

Ange Postecoglou admits he has to be careful with Son Heung-min as his Tottenham squad is looking thin, especially in wide areas.

Son opened the scoring against Roma in north London on Thursday night, with the Europa League game eventually ending 2-2 thanks to an injury time equaliser for the Italians from Mats Hummels.

Spurs are ninth in the Europa League table, with the top eight automatically qualifying for the knockout stages so they are in a decent spot, but with work to do.

Postecoglou is trying to balance challenges in the Premier League, Carabao Cup and in Europe and he is doing so with a number of injuries.

On the wings, Spurs are missing Richarlison, Mikey Moore and Wilson Odobert, while Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are out in other areas.

The manager says he has to keep picking certain players as his options are limited, but must be careful with them, particularly Son.

‘I don’t know if he’s lacking confidence. Sonny’s had a disrupted year for us, so that doesn’t help,’ said the Australian. ‘Yeah, he had some good chances tonight to get the goal and he’s getting in those areas.

‘Look, he’s got the quality to take those chances and we know he’s done it consistently for almost a decade, but he’s had a disrupted season being in and out.You can see he is getting back to full fitness now, which is the main thing for us.

‘We’re quite thin in those wide areas, so he’s playing and we’ve got to make sure we are careful with him, Brennan [Johnson] and Timo [Werner] because they are the only wingers we’ve got left and will have for the foreseeable future.

‘I thought tonight, it wasn’t just Sonny. There were quite a few really good chances, we hit the post three times as well and a couple cleared off the line. I still felt there were a couple of occasions where a bit more composure would have finished the game off.’

It is a very busy December ahead, starting with a home Premier League clash with Fulham on Sunday and Postecoglou will head into it with a number of injury headaches.

‘It is what it is,’ he said. ‘We’ve been in this situation for quite a while. We are fairly thin in terms of squad depth at the moment. We had four kids on the bench tonight so we couldn’t even fill the quota.

‘It is what it is, we’ve been dealing with this for quite a while and I still think we certainly had enough of the game and enough clear cut chances to win the game.’

Spurs will play nine games in December across the Premier League, Carabao Cup and Europa League, including clashes with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

‘That’s going to be our schedule and we understand that,’ said the boss. ‘It’s challenging with the absences we have at the moment in terms of the squad, but I think tonight our football was still good but we just lacked a bit, that clinical edge to finish the game off.

‘Overall this whole European competition, we’ve had some challenges within the first five games so we’re in a strong position and that’s the main thing.’

Arrow MORE: Ruben Amorim reveals issue with Rasmus Hojlund after Manchester United beat Bodo/Glimt

Arrow MORE: Peter Crouch urges Enzo Maresca to drop Chelsea star after Conference League win

Ange Postecoglou must hate November with a passion as it never ends well for Tottenham.

Hark back 12 months and Spurs were flying high at the top of the Premier League table only to lose 4-1 at home to Chelsea when Micky van de Ven and James Maddison suffered long-term injuries and Cristian Romero and Destiny Odogie were suspended for multiple matches after receiving red cards.

Fast forward to this week and the central defensive pairing of Van de Ven and Romero, among the best in the division, are both in the treatment room with Richarlison and Wilson Odobert. Rodrigo Bentancur is serving a seven-match ban for making a racial slur about team-mate Son Heung-Min in an interview and now they will be without goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario for the foreseeable future after he had surgery on a fracture to his right ankle.

The Italian suffered the injury half an hour into the 4-0 demolition of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday but stayed on the pitch to make a series of superb saves and keep a rare clean sheet away from home. Brave kid.

Fraser Forster, the former Celtic, Newcastle and Southampton goalkeeper, steps up to the plate and although the 36-year-old has enjoyed an above average career he’s not the sweeper-keeper Vicario is and there have to be question marks over his ability to play the ball out from the back in the same fluid manner.

Forster would most likely have started this week’s match against Roma in any case as he’s already featured in Tottenham’s Europa League campaign and Spurs will be praying he can prove himself as the perfect replacement the way Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin seamlessly stepped into the heart of defence against City.

Spurs boss Postecoglou has ruled out trying to find another keeper in the January transfer window so the answer to Big Ange’s problems is obviously going to be to score goals galore – they already top the Premier League with 27 in just 12 matches, three more than next best Liverpool, and have found the net three or more times in seven of 18 matches in all competitions.

As usual it’s going to be a rollercoaster ride for Tottenham fans but they can start life without Vicario by beating Roma outright at 8/11 with Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill, while Brennan Johnson is 7/1 with bet365, Paddy Power and Betfair to bag the first goal and 21/10 with the former firm to score at any point.

• Ruben Amorim should gain his first victory as Manchester United manager when they entertain Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League duel at Old Trafford.

More Trending

United were mediocre in the 1-1 draw at Ipswich on Sunday and under 2.5 goals is 41/20 with BetMGM and Unibet, while Bruno Fernandes is 23/4 to break the deadlock and 8/5 with Paddy Power, Betfair and bet365 to score at any time.

Chelsea are 23/20 with StarSports to lead HT/FT at Heidenheim 1846 in the Europa Conference League.

• It’s estimated by the US Department of Agriculture that 46million turkeys are gobbled up by hungry Americans each Thanksgiving Day. The biggest turkey devoured this year will be the truly awful New York Giants when they face the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington.

The hosts are not very good either but pulled off a shock win against the impressive Washington Commanders on Sunday and can win by more than 3.5 points at 6/5 with Ladbrokes and Coral.

Arrow MORE: David Coote in new FA probe for discussing yellow card before Leeds-West Brom game

Arrow MORE: Steve Borthwick seems no closer to solving England’s identity crisis

Oasis guitarist and Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher has declared Tottenham as the ‘biggest frauds’ in the Premier League.

Gallagher watched Spurs destroy his beloved City 4-0 at the Etihad on Saturday – but he has brutally predicted that Fulham will ‘batter’ Ange Postecoglou’s side in Tottenham’s next top-flight match on Sunday.

Quizzed about City’s drop-off, with Pep Guardiola’s side having lost their last five matches, Gallagher couldn’t resist a little dig at Spurs as he told talkSPORT: ‘The whole entire thing seems to have fallen off a cliff but if we hadn’t won four leagues in a row, I’d be worried.

‘This is an inevitable drop off of maybe five or ten per cent and on Saturday, the one team we don’t want to play as City fans after four defeats in a row is Tottenham at home.

‘They do it to us every time they come there, they’re the biggest frauds in the football league.

‘They’ll get battered by Fulham at the weekend, no problem. But they always turn up for us.

‘I wasn’t expecting to win that game, I certainly wasn’t expecting to lose but 4-0 was a shocker.’

Meanwhile, Gallagher feels the main issue for City this season is that they are too reliant on Erling Haaland for goals.

‘To have Haaland as your only source of goals, you’re asking for it really,’ Gallagher added. ‘I know it’s going to be difficult to buy a forward who knows he’s going to be playing second fiddle to Haaland.

‘We’ve always had a [Julian] Alvarez or a [Riyad] Mahrez chipping in and Phil [Foden] last season.’

Gallagher, though, is not too concerned about City’s title rivals Liverpool, despite their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

‘What I will say is we are very good at chasing,’ Gallagher said. ‘When it turns, we can sit in there. 11 points, is it insurmountable?

‘There is a lot to play for but I’m not heading [to Anfield on Sunday] expecting a win, I’d take a draw.’

Arrow MORE: Wolves make Matheus Cunha transfer ‘promise’ amid Manchester United interest

Arrow MORE: Ruben Amorim considering naming two Man Utd teenagers in squad for Bodo/Glimt clash

Tottenham are scouring the market for emergency replacements for Guglielmo Vicario after the Italian was ruled out for months with an ankle injury.

The club announced on Monday night that the goalkeeper had undergone surgery on his ankle.

Vicario fractured his ankle during Saturday’s 4-0 win against Manchester City at the Etihad.

The injury is set to keep the Italy international on the sidelines for months, in a major blow to Ange Postecoglou.

The club failed to sign a back-up to Vicario last summer, meaning veteran Fraser Forster has served as his number two.

Now the club face selecting Forster on a regular basis over the packed festive schedule.

More Trending

But the Telegraph say Spurs are exploring emergency deals to provide cover for Vicario’s absence.

The January transfer window opens in five weeks’ time, at which point Spurs could sign a new goalkeeper.

But the club are exploring free agents on the market as they desperately look to replace Vicario.

Spurs face Roma in the Europa League on Thursday before hosting Fulham in the Premier League.

Arrow MORE: The rating out of 10 Ruben Amorim gave his Manchester United team after first game in charge

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario faces a spell out of action after undergoing surgery on a fractured ankle.

The Italian suffered the injury during Tottenham’s stunning 4-0 win at Manchester City on Saturday evening.

The goalkeeper was in fine form during the match and clearly completed the game in some pain as he made it to the final whistle.

However, Spurs have confirmed on Monday that Vicario has had an operation on his ankle, and while they did not state how long he is expected to be out for, it is set to be a lengthy spell.

A statement from Tottenham on Monday read: ‘We can confirm that Guglielmo Vicario has today undergone surgery for a fracture of his right ankle.

‘The 28-year-old suffered the injury during Saturday’s Premier League victory at Manchester City.

‘Guglielmo will be assessed by our medical staff to determine when he can return to training. We’re all behind you, Vic.’

Tottenham have a very experienced back-up in Fraser Forster, with the 36-year-old having been at the club since 2022.

The England international has not played a Premier League game since the 2022/23 season, but has been in action in the Carabao Cup and Europa League during the current campaign.

Vicario joins Ange Postecoglou’s injured list, which already includes Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Mikey Moore, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison, while Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended.

It is an extremely busy period on the calendar that Vicario will sit out, with Tottenham competing in the Premier League, Europa League and Carabao Cup over the next month.

Their next outing is a home game against Rome on Thursday night before hosting Fulham in the top flight on Sunday.

Romero is the closest to a return of any of the injured contingent, with the defender potentially available for the London derby with the Cottagers.

Arrow MORE: Ruben Amorim names one Man Utd player who has already ‘improved so much’

Arrow MORE: Ian Wright identifies ‘perfect’ finish for Manchester United under Ruben Amorim this season