We Ain't Got No History

Not only is Moisés Caicedo excellent and impactful just about every time we play, he tends to save his very best performances for the biggest games. That’s a most wonderful habit among all the other wonderful habits he has.

Keep this up, and he will be mentioned in the same breath as Makélélé, Mikel, and Kanté.

“He’s top. In this moment, I think him with Rodri are the top best defensive midfielders probably in the world.”

-Enzo Maresca; source: NBC Sports

A captain’s performance from the Captain, fittingly coming almost exactly one year to the date from when Maresca called on him to give “more” and become a bigger leader for us.

“I think Reece is doing fantastic when he’s playing midfielder, he’s doing fantastic when he’s playing fullback, and he’s doing fantastic in terms of leadership with the players inside the changing room.”

-Enzo Maresca; source: YouTube via Reddit

Bob often faces an uphill battle in these ratings, but he just edges out Cucurella for the third spot thanks to a commanding performance in his own penalty area.

vs. SPURS (PL, A, W 1-0)

EXCEPTIONAL (8.5-9.5): Caicedo (9.2)

EXCELLENT (7.5-8.4): James (7.5), Sánchez (7.5), Cucurella (7.5)

GOOD (6.5-7.4): João Pedro (7.4), Fofana (7.2), Chalobah (7.1), Enzo (7.0), Gusto (6.7), Neto (6.5)

AVERAGE (5.5-6.4): Garnacho (6.4), Estêvão (6.4, sub), Lavia (6.4, sub), Gittens (6.0, sub), Tosin (5.9, sub)

SUBPAR (4.5-5.4): —

BAD (3.5-4.4): —

TERRIBLE (2.5-3.4): —

“I’m happy with the one-nil and with the three points, especially because we kept the clean sheet that I think it’s something that we need for the future. We knew that we are a team that, at the end, we are going to score goals, but we need to do better defensively.

“The performance was very good, on the ball and off the ball. For sure, the way we tried to press was very important, but I also think that our game against Liverpool off the ball was top game — was very good. And you need that. You need that if you want to be close to the top — you need to be defensively solid. As I said, we know that almost always we score goals, but we need also to try to concede less goals.”

Had Chelsea’s game against Wolves in the League Cup earlier this week ended right after the first half, the Blues fanbase would arrive at today’s match against Tottenham Hotspur at their turf in the Premier League with much more confidence. Our second half performance in that match managed to steal our thunder.

Under former Brentford boss Thomas Frank, this iteration of our North London rivals look and play much better than under Ange Postecoglou. They have been fighting neck and neck for a top four spot, beating the rest of the (several) teams also in the mix on slim margins. Much like us under Enzo Maresca this season.

We had a point to prove. Beyond the sake of getting three points from a direct rival to a Champions League berth next season, which suffices as a reason to do our best, we also needed to keep the winning streak at the brand new Spurs stadium going much like we did in the old one.

It was an even match-up across the pitch but in attack, where the Blues with João Pedro upfront had something to show while Spurs and Randal Kolo Muani struggled to make up for it. In the second great chance he got in the area, the young Brazilian striker got us the lead with great aid from Moisés Caicedo.

The second half was pretty much a “rinse and repeat” of the first one sans a Chelsea goal. An incredibly toothless and ever-nervous Spurs couldn’t do much in our defensive third, and Chelsea could have turned this into a full thrashing if the hosts didn’t have Guglielmo Vicario between the posts.

Carefree!

João Pedro upfront, Reece James in midfield with Enzo Fernández playing further forward.

A true striker’s goal from João Pedro.

Spurs seem to love losing their minds and getting red cards whenever they face us. You have to wonder how Rodrigo Bentancur escaped his with a full stomp on Reece’s ankle in the first half.

Next up: Qarabag away in the Champions League.

KTBFFH!

Carregando…

Welcome to the big game. Normally, we’d be quite confident of beating Spurs, regardless of circumstance. This time however, that notion feels a bit (a lot?) more tenuous. Hopefully I’m proven wrong.

Enzo Maresca has made a couple changes from last weekend, with Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto coming in to the side — we’ll see how exactly Gusto and Reece James end up lining up — and Enzo Fernández pushing up a bit. Josh Acheampong and Marc Guiu go back to the bench.

Here we go!

Tottenham Hotspur starting XI:

Vicario | Danso, Palhinha, Bergvall, Kudus, Pedro Porro, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, Van de Ven (c), Kolo Muani

Substitutes from: Kinsky, Xavi, Richarlison, Tel, Udogie, Romero, Johnson, Odobert, Scarlett

Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1):

Sánchez | Cucurella, Chalobah, Fofana, Gusto | James (c), Caicedo | Garnacho, Enzo, Neto | João Pedro

Substitutes from: Jörgensen, Tosin, Acheampong, Hato, Lavia, Santos, Estêvão, Gittens, Guiu

Date / Time: November 1, 2025, 17.30 GMT; 1:30pm EDT; 11pm IST

Venue: New Three Point Lane, Tottenham

Referee: Jarred Gillett (on pitch); Craig Pawson (VAR)

On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); none (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ Sport 3 (NGA); elsewhere

Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Peacock (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); Dstv Now (NGA)

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!

We had a slightly abbreviated voting period this time around, but the trend in the responses is pretty clear already.

Seven of the eleven starters have collected over 80 per cent of the vote each, while three more were right around 70 per cent. The one position up for debate was the fourth attacking player, to join the trio of Pedro Neto, João Pedro, and Estêvão.

That debate was settled by just a few percentage points, with Marc Guiu (41%) just about edging out both Alejandro Garnacho (35%) and Jamie Gittens (37%). So that would mean another try for Guiu leading the line, with JP playing off of him in a more supporting role. This didn’t really produce much against Sunderland, but perhaps Spurs won’t be packing all their players into their own box.

Roméo Lavia (31%) and Andrey Santos (14%) were the only other players to score in the double digits.

Chelsea have won five in six, but the vibes aren’t exactly peachy at the moment. The start to the season has not been as delightful as our Club World Cup success might have led us to believe that we could achieve, and this young team continue to make very classic young team mistakes. And ain’t nobody got time for that!

The vibes will surely change this weekend however — for the better if we beat Spurs, and for the much worse if we lose to them. That’s something we’ve done only once in the last twelve meetings. Speaking of twelve, we once has a 12-game win streak at Three Point Lane (1989-2001): we’re currently working on a two-game streak.

Spurs come into the weekend third in the table, six places but just three points ahead of Chelsea in ninth. Arsenal have built an early lead with Liverpool’s form cratering, but it’s still very early. Still, having dropped 13 points already from a possible 27, we need to start showing some improvement (and consistency) in results.

Date / Time: November 1, 2025, 17.30 GMT; 1:30pm EDT; 11pm IST

Venue: New Three Point Lane, Tottenham

Referee: Jarred Gillett (on pitch); Craig Pawson (VAR)

Forecast: Sunshine turning into rain

On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); none (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ Sport 3 (NGA); elsewhere

Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Peacock (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); Dstv Now (NGA)

Spurs team news: Spurs sacked Ange Postecoglou after finishing in the last non-relegation spot in the Premier League (i.e. 17th) last season. Still, some questioned the move since they also won the Europa League, but so far, the choice has proven the correct one. Long-time Brentford boss Thomas Frank took his giant stash of chewing gum from West London to North, and he would win three of his first four league games in charge after losing the UEFA Super Cup on penalties to PSG. Meanwhile, Postecoglou has already been sacked again, this time by Nottingham Forest (after their 3-0 defeat against Chelsea a couple weeks ago).

Lately however results have not quite gone Frank’s way, with just two wins in their last seven in all competitions. They got smacked 2-0 at St James’ Park midweek, to exit the League Cup.

A lengthy injury list that would rival some of our own in recent years certainly hasn’t helped, though Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, and Wilson Odobert are back in the frame. However, the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Dom Solanke, and Yves Bissouma remain out, and of course James Maddison is sidelined long-term thanks to an ACL tear suffered in preseason. Archie Gray, Kota Takai, Ben Davies, and Radu Dragusin are also unavailable for selection.

View from the enemy: Cartilage Free Captain

Chelsea team news: Wednesday’s win against Wolves in the League Cup ended up being more notable for the three goals we gave up rather than the four goals we scored — not to mention Liam Delap’s red card, which was the fifth in our last nine games (sixth if you also count Enzo Maresca’s). Not a great habit! Delap’s thus suspended for this game, which is perhaps for the better since him and Cuti Romero on the same pitch just might create a supernova.

Other than Delap’s suspension, our squad availability situation remains decently manageable, with only Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Benoît Badiashile, and Dário Essugo confirmed out. Of course, “only” Palmer and Colwill missing is a massive understatement as that continues to deprive the team of our best attacking player and our best defender. And Maresca continues to sound doubtful that we’ll see Palmer anytime soon. Let’s hope he can return before Colwill rehabs his ACL at least…

Previously: Chelsea have done double for the last two years over Spurs, and last year’s visit to New Three Point Lane featured the most delightful Palmer Panenka and Marc Cucurella getting a new Puma contract after changing his boots. Good times!

Chelsea got back to winning ways midweek beating Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup fourth round, but the vibes weren’t exactly immaculate afterwards. The team threatened to give away a 3-0 lead against the worst team in the Premier League, and then Liam Delap had a bit of a headrush and got himself sent off. We sure love a red card these days.

But all that can be forgotten immediately with three points against Spurs this weekend.

Or it could be exacerbated further without those three points.

Thankfully, we did manage to rest most of our key players — if not for a full-90, at least for a good portion of the game on Wednesday — so we should have a bit more energy than we showed last weekend against Sunderland at home. Delap’s suspended (just the one game, as things stand), but otherwise it’s only the quartet of injured who are unavailable (Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, Benoît Badiashile, and Dário Essugo).

Tottenham are enjoying a good season so far, with four wins in five matches before today’s encounter with Chelsea Women at Kingsmeadow. All of their victories up to this point were built on solid defensive displays and when all else fails, heroic Lize Kop saves between the posts to keep Spurs in contention.

We’d experience that in full extent today, especially in the first half. Even though the Blues themselves weren’t very hot in front of goal, many of our attempts against Kop were either blocked by a body thrown against the shot’s trajectory or saved by the Dutch goalkeeper herself. And they were more than happy to keep things as is, because it’s clear at this point a draw against Chelsea is as valuable to our opponents as a straight up win.

It would be good to see something different taking place in the second half, given our insistence in trying to walk the ball into goal. That was likely the idea when Catarina Macario got on the pitch in place of Wieke Kaptein. However a long range shot from Keira Walsh would be what we needed to break the deadlock.

As the final whistle approached, Tottenham tried to mount an answer and re-establish the previous scoreline equilibrium. But if Chelsea of all teams are struggling to make things happen in front of goal, the Spurs wouldn’t be any different.

Carefree!

It’s a 3-4-3 again, with Alyssa Thompson and Ellie Carpenter as wing-backs.

Very frustrating first half, as expected when Chelsea are lacking that “killing instinct” of yore.

Keira Walsh hasn’t been as impactful as expected when she first arrived at Chelsea. That’s why it’s great to see her taking up the Sophie Ingle mantle with a goal like today’s.

Next up: Paris FC at home in the Women’s Champions League.

KTBFFH!

It’s as good a time as any for a bounce back.

Chelsea Women aren’t used to dropping points and doing so consecutively does leave a bitter taste in our mouths. Against a Tottenham team that’s been on the rise since the beginning the season, the Blues have the best opportunity for double damage by getting back on the winning track and help putting an end on Spurs’ “good vibes all around”.

Chelsea starting lineup:

Hampton | Carpenter, Bright (c), Björn, Charles | Walsh, Cuthbert | Rytting Kaneryd, Kaptein, Thompson | Beever-jones

Substitutes from: Peng, Buurman, Nüsken, Macario, Reiten, Kerr, Bronze, Hamano, Jean-François

Tottenham starting XI:

Kop | Nilden, Naz, England (c), Vinberg, Hunt, Tandberg, Ahtinen, Summanen, Neville, Koga

Substitutes from: Heeps, Grant, Bartrip, Rybrink, Oroz, Holdt, Graham, Gunning-Williams, Thomas

Date / Time: Sunday, October 12, 2025, 12:00 BST; 7:00 am EDT

Venue: Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, UK

Referee: Grace Lowe

On TV: Sky Sports (UK); ESPN2 (US); elsewhere

Streaming: Sky Go (UK); ESPN+ (US)

Chelsea Women return to Kingsmeadow for a London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, looking to reassert control in the Women’s Super League after dropping points last time out. The Blues remain unbeaten under Sonia Bompastor, but with rivals close behind, every result now carries added weight.

Tottenham, meanwhile, have been one of the early surprises of the season. Under new manager Martin Ho, Spurs have produced a sharper, more disciplined side that sits firmly in the top half after a strong start.

Date / Time: Sunday, October 12, 2025, 12:00 BST; 7:00 am EDT

Venue: Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames, UK

Forecast: Sunny with light winds

Referee: Grace Lowe

On TV: Sky Sports (UK); ESPN2 (US); elsewhere

Streaming: Sky Go (UK); ESPN+ (US)

Chelsea team news: You can boil Chelsea’s tie to FC Twente in their first UEFA Women’s Champions League match this season down to luck given how many chances we had to get it done in the first half. This doesn’t detract from the fact we failed to get the full points from one of the easiest matches we have in the competition, something that ought to bite us in the back when push comes to shove.

Nevertheless it’s time to recover. And there might not be a better way to do so than getting a good result against a bitter rival in an apparent rise from their previous marks.

In injury news, manager Sonia Bompastor has confirmed that Niamh Charles and ‘caged tiger’ Lucy Bronze will be in the squad and available again after recovering. Sjoeke Nüsken is also fit to feature, after being substituted in the midweek Champions League tie with Twente. However, Lauren James and Naomi Girma remain unavailable and are still weeks away from returning.

Tottenham team news: Tottenham made few but targeted moves this summer. The highlight thus far is former Hammarby attacker Cathinka Tandberg, their current top scorer with three goals in five Women’s Super League matches. Fullback Tōko Koga, who arrived from Feyenoord during the last transfer window, has also helped with solidifying their backline.

Spurs head coach Martin Ho confirmed that defenders Ella Morris and Luana Bühler are unavailable for the Chelsea match. Fellow defender Molly Bartrip, who’s been out so far, might be back in contention.

Previously: A somewhat even first half where Chelsea still came out on top, followed by an absolute dismantling in the second part.