The Chelsea Chronicle

Chelsea found themselves 1-0 ahead at half-time during their Premier League fixture away to Tottenham.

The Blues have certainly enjoyed their recent trips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so perhaps it’s no great surprise that they went in front against Spurs during a one-sided opening 45 minutes.

After a recent goal drought, Joao Pedro put the visitors 1-0 up with an easy finish that he tucked away inside the penalty box.

Pedro, who’s been struggling with injury problems, had failed to score in his previous six league appearances. Hopefully, the Brazilian forward can now rediscover his scoring boots.

Jamie Carragher hails Moises Caicedo role in Joao Pedro opener

Jamie Carragher showered Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo with immense praise for his role in the opening goal against Spurs. The relentless midfielder pressed high to win back the ball with two tackles before assisting Pedro.

When reacting to Chelsea’s opening goal against Spurs, Carragher said via the Sky Sports Main Event channel (18:05pm, 1 November): “This was one of those goals when it’s not about the goalscorer… This is all about Caicedo. He’s an absolute monster in midfield that man. Challenge after challenge.”

Yet again, Caicedo reminded everyone why he’s one of the world’s best midfielders right now.

It must be a joy for his teammates to play alongside him because he does a bit of everything, both offensively and defensively.

Even though recent history suggests Chelsea will beat Tottenham this weekend, pundits Ally McCoist and Chris Sutton have disagreed with their pre-match predictions.

Chelsea are currently on an impressive streak against Spurs, beating them in the previous four consecutive meetings. In fact, they’ve won nine of the previous 11 games between the clubs across all competitions.

There has been some fascinating talk off the pitch to stir up the heat ahead of Saturday evening’s London derby.

Blues legend John Terry ripped into the claim that Spurs are bigger than Chelsea, taking a dig at their trophy cabinet. Elsewhere, Cole Palmer uploaded a cheeky message on Instagram before his side face Spurs.

Ally McCoist and Chris Sutton disagree on Tottenham vs Chelsea predictions

According to Ally McCoist, Chelsea’s strong record against Spurs will lead them to a narrow away victory this weekend.

McCoist told TNT Sports: “They say that Chelsea always do well at Tottenham, don’t they? I was at Chelsea last week and I wasn’t overly impressed with them, although they played against an impressive Sunderland team. I don’t think there will be an awful lot in this game and I can just see Chelsea sneaking it in the end.

“Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Chelsea.”

Meanwhile, Chris Sutton disagrees with his pre-match prediction, tipping a stalemate between Spurs and Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Sutton told BBC Sport: “This is always a bit of a grudge game because the two sets of fans don’t really like each other.

Chelsea need the result more, and they also have a much better record in this fixture, but their home defeat against Sunderland was another example of how flaky they are at the moment…

“I don’t really know which way to go with my prediction, so I am going to for a draw. I feel like I am turning into AI.

“Sutton’s prediction: 1-1.”

Chelsea’s record vs Thomas Frank

Thomas Frank, who’s praised Chelsea prior to Saturday’s showdown, will now face the Blues for the first time as the Spurs manager. We suspect he’ll learn quickly about the intensity of the fixture.

The former Brentford boss has an interesting record against Chelsea during his managerial career:

As for Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, it feels like his team could desperately do with a win because they’ve struggled with inconsistency so far in the 2025-26 season. It is imperative they bounce back after last weekend’s league defeat at home to Sunderland.

The best way to get the feel-good factor back in the Chelsea fanbase is by collecting three points against Spurs.

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has some crucial decisions to make with his team selection against Tottenham.

On Saturday evening, Chelsea travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to face rivals Spurs in a Premier League fixture.

Liam Delap’s red card in midweek during the Carabao Cup victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers means he’s unavailable. Even so, there are still some fascinating choices to make in the attacking third of the pitch.

Goalkeeper – Robert Sanchez

Of course, Robert Sanchez kicks off the predicted line-up between the sticks, keeping up his record of starting every league match so far this season.

Even though Paul Scholes insists Chelsea need a new goalkeeper, the Spanish shot-stopper has actually been a lot better than people give him credit for recently.

Defence – Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Josh Acheampong, Marc Cucurella

It’s the usual suspects in the full-back positions with Reece James and Marc Cucurella.

However, the centre-back partnership is not so straightforward. If you look at how regularly Maresca has rotated in central defence this season, it tells you he still doesn’t know his preferred combination.

We’ve gone with Wesley Fofana next to Josh Acheampong in the heart of the defensive line, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if either Trevoh Chalobah or Tosin Adarabioyo starts instead.

Midfield – Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez

If Chelsea win the midfield battle against Spurs, it should go a long way to three points, which is why we are expecting them to start all three big hitters.

Romeo Lavia could start as the deep-lying playmaker to dominate on and off the ball, while Moises Caicedo may be allowed freedom as the roaming box-to-box midfielder to do a bit of everything.

That leaves Enzo Fernandez to play a bit higher in the advanced number 10 role.

Lavia admitted he loves playing alongside Caicedo and Fernandez, which, on paper, should be strong enough to dominate in the central midfield area against Spurs.

Attack – Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Alejandro Garnacho

Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens, who both scored in midweek against Wolves, are the two Chelsea wide players with compelling cases to start the weekend showdown away to Spurs.

Although we would lean towards starting the exciting pair, both are absent from the predicted XI.

Instead, Maresca could prefer to go with Pedro Neto on the right wing and Alejandro Garnacho on the left wing, his favoured pairing for the league fixtures.

Even though Cole Palmer won’t feature in Chelsea’s upcoming trip to Tottenham, he’s still making his presence known beforehand.

Chelsea travel across London to face Spurs on Saturday evening, which is usually one of the most entertaining games in any Premier League campaign.

Ahead of the league showdown, Spurs head coach Thomas Frank has praised Chelsea and opposite number Enzo Maresca, but they will clash on the sidelines this weekend.

The Blues go into the fixture desperately needing three points because they’ve already lost three of their opening nine league matches this season. Therefore, a positive sign is that they’ve won their previous four consecutive meetings with Spurs.

Cole Palmer uploads cheeky post

On Friday afternoon, Cole Palmer cranked up the excitement before tomorrow’s London derby.

The Chelsea playmaker uploaded a cheeky post on his Instagram story with a picture of him scoring a Panenka penalty against Spurs from last season. He included a laughing emoji as part of the message, too.

Last season, Chelsea recorded a dramatic 4-3 victory over Spurs, which was their most recent visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Blues star Palmer, 23, lit up the December clash by scoring two penalty kicks, including the Panenka, to ultimately clinch the win.

Palmer is sidelined through injury until the end of November, so it’s agonising that he can’t play in the latest instalment of this fixture.

Although Chelsea’s results have been steady without him, his knack of turning up in the crunch games could be a huge miss.

Estevao Willian can bring the Cole Palmer magic

If Chelsea are looking for a match-winner at Spurs, 18-year-old wonderkid Estevao Willian could be just that. Of course, he’ll need Maresca to put his faith in him in such an important contest.

The teenage attacker has looked so composed during his first few months at Stamford Bridge, making the transition from Brazilian football to English football look quite easy.

Estevao has already produced some real magic in Chelsea colours, including a late winner against Liverpool earlier in October, but he’s still not a nailed-on starter. In fact, he’s only started four Premier League games so far this season.

Based on what we’ve seen, Estevao is more than ready to be in the XI against Spurs and make the difference.

Alan Shearer has predicted the result for the upcoming showdown between Tottenham and Chelsea this weekend.

Spurs host London rivals Chelsea on Saturday evening, with three important points up for grabs in the Premier League fixture.

Recent history would suggest that the Blues should travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with real confidence. Remarkably, Chelsea have won nine of their previous 11 games against Spurs across all competitions.

Paul Merson tips Chelsea to beat Spurs to stretch their impressive record against them. If they do, the clubs will be level on points after 10 league games this season.

Alan Shearer predicts Tottenham vs Chelsea

According to Alan Shearer, Chelsea will only manage a point away to Spurs on Saturday.

Shearer has told The Metro: “This game is always a tough one to call, always a bit of spice, always really interesting, and always chucks up some incidents. We’ll have to wait and see, but with it being a London derby, I’m going to say a score draw in this one, and a point each.

“One thing Chelsea can’t afford is another red card. Losing a player in these games can make a huge difference, but it wouldn’t surprise me because there’s always a bit of needle in this game.

“Prediction – Draw.”

Chelsea must improve league form

As you can see below, Chelsea’s league form has been too inconsistent in the opening quarter of the 2025-26 campaign.

Maresca’s side sneaked into fourth spot on the final day of last season. On paper, this squad should be comfortably in top four without being sucked into a tough race for Champions League qualification.

Even though Chelsea’s target from the owners is another top-four finish this year, the talented young group should be striving for more.

Chelsea play Spurs (away), Wolverhampton Wanderers (home) and Burnley (away) in their next three top-flight matches. It feels like a perfect opportunity to build some momentum to help climb the division table. They certainly don’t want to go into the home fixture at home to Arsenal on 30 November still languishing in mid-table.

Chelsea winger Pedro Neto is usually on the winning side when he plays against Tottenham Hotspur.

Since moving to England back in 2019, Neto has only lost one game against Chelsea’s London rivals.

Nevertheless, there is still one reason why Spurs are unlikely to be the 25-year-old’s favourite opposition despite his success when taking them on.

Neto is thriving at Chelsea right now, scoring a couple of goals for Enzo Maresca’s side this season, but he has found firing into Tottenham’s net impossible.

Chelsea star Pedro Neto has never scored against Tottenham

Neto has played Spurs a total of seven times and won five of those games, which is quite impressive.

However, in the seven matches that the Portuguese played in, he was not able to score a single goal, which is not a good sign ahead of Saturday.

Of course, there is a first time for everything. Hopefully Neto can find the back of Tottenham’s net if he is given an opportunity to play.

A bigger concern for Chelsea fans, though, will be how the team are defending right now, especially when it comes to set-pieces.

Maresca’s side conceded three goals to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Thankfully, they were still able to make it to the quarter-finals thanks to goals from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George, Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens.

Chelsea made history against Wolves as a result of the quartet scoring. It was the first time a Premier League club had four different goalscorers aged 21 or under in a match.

What Chelsea’s attack could look like on Saturday

Maresca has some decisions to make for the Tottenham match following Estevao’s and Gittens’ excellent performances.

Neto is someone the Chelsea boss really trusts, but Estevao is really pushing for a start after his impact in recent games.

Of course, with Cole Palmer injured, the Brazil international could always be deployed in the No.10 position while Neto keeps his place on the right. That would allow Joao Pedro to lead the line, with Gittens taking up the final attacking spot on the left.

Paul Merson insists Chelsea winger Pedro Neto must start this weekend during his prediction for their trip to Tottenham.

On Saturday evening, Spurs host rivals Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The visitors should feel confident that they have won the previous four consecutive meetings between the clubs.

Enzo Maresca’s side just edged a memorable 4-3 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup, but they desperately need a response in the Premier League, losing last weekend at home to Sunderland.

Danny Murphy’s verdict on Chelsea is that their rollercoaster season will continue because they have some obvious flaws in their squad.

Paul Merson says Pedro Neto must start in Tottenham vs Chelsea prediction

According to Paul Merson, Chelsea will edge out winners on the road against Spurs, but Pedro Neto must be in the starting line-up.

Merson told Sportskeeda: “This is the biggest game of the season for both teams. After this, Chelsea face Wolves and Burnley in the league. If they can beat Spurs this weekend, they will be confident of going into them games feeling like they can make it three straight wins before the international break…

“Chelsea must start with Pedro Neto in this game. It’s a big pitch at Tottenham and he’s quick as anything. I’m almost certain Estevao will also start the game. Both wingers must track back though. Spurs have full-backs who love to go forward, so if the Chelsea wingers do not help out in defence, their team will get overrun. I expect Enzo Maresca to make his team selection based on who he trusts more to do the defensive work down the flanks, otherwise Chelsea are in trouble.

“Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Chelsea.”

Similarly, Theo Walcott predicts a Chelsea win against Spurs, even though they are three points behind them after the opening nine Premier League matches this season.

In terms of Neto, 25, we do expect him to start at Spurs. In fact, the winger has started every single league game in the 2025-26 campaign so far.

Of course, the Portuguese attacker possesses the pace and skill to hurt any opposition, especially if there’s any room to counter-attack.

Earlier in the season, Jose Mourinho called Neto one of the world’s best wingers, which is some gigantic praise. We still want to see him be a little bit more consistent with his performances, and that means turning up for a crucial trip to Spurs.

Where Pedro Neto must improve

Neto’s record of two goals in nine league appearances this term is underwhelming for an individual with his ability. Without a doubt, we’d love to see the left-footed winger be more selfish in front of goal.

Here is a look at Chelsea players with the most shots per 90 in the 2025-26 Premier League season via FOTMOB:

It is slightly concerning to see Neto in the middle of the pack for shots per 90, so it is an area of his game that he can definitely improve on.

Any Chelsea fans hoping to see the club sign Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen next year may be concerned about links with Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham already beat their Premier League and London rivals to one signing during the summer after landing Xavi Simons.

Simons was high on Chelsea’s shortlist but ended up joining Thomas Frank’s side instead.

Since then, Ter Stegen has been linked to both London clubs, but a switch to Stamford Bridge looks more likely at this moment in time.

Ter Stegen doesn’t fit goalkeeper profile Tottenham are looking for

Chelsea reportedly view Ter Stegen as an upgrade on Robert Sanchez, who is currently their first-choice goalkeeper. With that being the case, it makes sense that they are considering the 33-year-old.

Tottenham, though, do not appear to be in the market for an upgrade on their No.1, Guglielmo Vicario.

Journalist Dean Jones has told TEAMtalk that Tottenham do not want to sign a big-name goalkeeper to replace Vicario, but rather someone with a lesser reputation who can compete with the Italian.

He has also claimed that Chelsea could very well make a move for Ter Stegen, especially if a short-term deal is possible.

All of the above means that if the Blues are seriously interested in signing the German next year, Tottenham should not cause them any problems.

Chelsea’s future No.1 is already clear

With Ter Stegen now in his 30s, if the Germany international does arrive at Stamford Bridge, the likelihood is that he will only be a short-term option for Chelsea.

It is pretty obvious that Mike Penders is going to be the club’s permanent No.1 in the near future as he continues to impress at Strasbourg.

After saving a penalty against Lyon, Chelsea fans are already calling for Penders to start in goal next season.

Sanchez has not made any huge errors lately, but everything is pointing towards him being replaced at some point.

Chelsea’s focus should be on the upcoming cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers, even though a crucial trip to Tottenham lies just around the corner.

The Blues travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup. Afterwards, Enzo Maresca’s side go across London to play away at rivals Tottenham in the Premier League.

Chelsea enjoyed success in cup competitions last term, winning both the Club World Cup and Conference League. Hopefully, they can follow that up with more success, starting with the League Cup.

Danny Murphy claims Chelsea’s inconsistency will continue because of their young squad, but they will still be favourites to win midweek at Molineux Stadium.

It would be great to safely get through the cup tie against Wolves before turning attention to Spurs.

Theo Walcott predicts Tottenham vs Chelsea

Former Premier League star Theo Walcott has made his early prediction for this weekend’s London showdown between Spurs and Chelsea. Interestingly, he’s gone with a 2-1 away victory for the Blues.

Speaking on The Overlap US, Walcott said: “I will go 2-1 Chelsea at Tottenham. Tottenham weren’t great against Everton. Everton were poor, Tottenham weren’t great either. I do like Thomas Frank. Goalscorer: let’s go for [Moises] Caicedo.”

If Chelsea beat third-placed Spurs in the league clash, they will go level on points with them. Of course, that means that a defeat will open up a six-point gap between the clubs.

We’ve seen that Maresca’s team tend to prefer playing against the bigger clubs, where there is often more space because both sides look to attack.

Blues head coach Maresca has hinted at resting Chelsea players against Wolves, so they could be going all out with their strongest team away to Spurs. They desperately need a reaction in the league because they lost 2-1 at home to Sunderland on Saturday.

Can Chelsea maintain streak against Tottenham?

History, especially in the Premier League era, would suggest that Chelsea should be excited about their upcoming trip to north London.

The Blues have a great record against Spurs. In fact, they are currently on a streak of four consecutive wins against them. Let’s wait and see if they can extend that on Saturday.

However, Thomas Frank’s new-look Spurs team are picking up results this season, even if the performances are questionable. After finishing 17th last year in the Premier League, it is eye-opening that they currently sit third in the table at the quarter-point stage.

Some Tottenham Hotspur supporters will not be happy with James Maddison after his praise of a Chelsea legend.

Maddison was recently asked to pick two players from a list of 15 to join the Premier League‘s Hall of Fame.

The first name that the attacking midfielder picked was former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. The other was an absolute Chelsea icon.

He is the sort of player Enzo Maresca would love to have now, especially with Cole Palmer out injured.

James Maddison lauds Eden Hazard as ‘one of the best’

After all of the goals that he has scored against them, Tottenham supporters will not appreciate Eden Hazard, who cost Chelsea £32m when he joined from Lille in 2012.

Maddison, however, remains a fan of the Belgium legend, hailing him as “one of the best players” to step foot in the Premier League.

Explaining why Hazard should be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame, Maddison said: “Eden Hazard, got it, for me he’s one of the best players to ever play in the Premier League, I have his shirt on my wall and it’s probably one of my favourite ones on there.”

MORE CHELSEA STORIES

As well as Hazard, Cesc Fabregas has also been nominated after his success at Chelsea.

At Stamford Bridge, the retired midfielder was able to help the Blues win two Premier League titles.

Eden Hazard just wanted to have ‘fun’ on the pitch

Maddison is not the only member of the Eden Hazard fan club. Former Aston Villa and England striker Gabriel Agbonlahor is also an admirer of the retired winger.

Agbonlahor recently shared a story about Hazard where the 34-year-old told him on the pitch that he just wants to have “fun”.

“This player, I had the privilege of playing against him,” Agbonlahor said. “He once said to me on the pitch, ‘Gabby, just have fun. I just want to have the ball and have fun’. Eden Hazard.”

Chelsea’s current attack is faltering right now, though they are not being helped by the red cards being picked up in the backline.

Nevertheless, six games into the season, Maresca has not got enough goals from the likes of Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens.

Everyone needs to step up — as Hazard often did — in the absence of Palmer. The Englishman is not expected to return to action until after the October international break.