Chelsea vs Tottenham this Saturday offers the Blues a chance to make history. A win would be their seventh consecutive victory over Spurs, something the club has never done before.
The preseason loss to Spurs in Australia doesn’t count. Chelsea have won every competitive meeting since the “handshake-gate” clash between Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte, a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge at the start of 2022-23.
The game also matters beyond the rivalry. Chelsea have won both matches since the international break, and the next three fixtures could set the tone for the winter. After Spurs come Liverpool in the League Cup and Manchester United, all within seven days.
Match Details
Date and time: Saturday, October 24, 17:30 BST (12:30pm EDT, 10pm IST)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London SW6
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (VAR: John Brooks)
Weather: Heavy rain expected
TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); NBCSN, Telemundo (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ Sport 3 (Nigeria)Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); JioHotstar (India); DStv Now (Nigeria)
Chelsea Team News
Injuries have piled up over the past couple of weeks. Reece James (knee) and Emiliano MartÃnez (fractured jaw from last weekend’s game) have both had surgery. Despite the club’s talk of “a few weeks” for MartÃnez, a realistic return for both is around Christmas.
With MartÃnez out, young Mike Penders is set to become Chelsea’s youngest ever starting goalkeeper in the Premier League. He has been nicknamed the “Next Thibaut Courtois.”
Other availability:
Out: Pep ChavarrÃa (unspecified injury, a late scratch last weekend), Jamie Gittens and Emmanuel Emegha.
Back: Malo Gusto, who missed out with a brief illness but is now fine.
Most regular starters are fit. Xabi Alonso made just one change last weekend, with Jorrel Hato replacing ChavarrÃa and making a key contribution. The back three, front three and the midfield pairing of Moisés Caicedo and Jordan Henderson have all locked down their places.
That kind of stability tends to bring consistent results.”We need to have a very complete game. Offensively, defensively, mentality-wise going through difficult moments, as there will be moments for everything. We need to prove again we can continue our run, knowing it’s a special game. We need to play with our head, heart, with intelligence but with passionate energy. We will need many things tomorrow.”
Tottenham Team News
Spurs have been consistent all season, though sadly for them that meant not winning. They finally have their first victory, beating Frank Lampard’s Coventry City on Monday night.
Injuries have hit them throughout their poor run, but several players are back.
Fit: Pedro Porro, Omar Marmoush, Andy Robertson and Dom Solanke.
Doubt: Tosin Adarabioyo faces a late fitness test. He has barely played since joining on deadline day, though still more than Mykhailo Mudryk, who has mostly sat in the stands. Chelsea’s loanee is dealing with a fitness issue of his own, unsurprising after more than a year and a half out of football.
Out: James Maddison, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Sávio.
Suspended: Rodrigo Bentancur, after his red card for headbutting Luke Shaw a couple of weeks ago.
Spurs have scored just six goals, the fewest in the league, but they have conceded only ten, three fewer than Chelsea. If Chelsea stay solid at the back and in midfield, they should have a good chance of adding to Spurs’ misery.
“I think it’s not just this negative record. There are many, many negative records, but for me it’s one motivation more. For the players, I want this negative record, they give us more motivation, more mentality, more energy to win a game, to play a good game. Because we have the qualities enough to win a game, this game.” Roberto De Zerbi.
Head-to-Head Record
The history heavily favors the home side:
Chelsea have won six in a row against Spurs and 12 of the last 13.
Spurs have won just one of their last 34 league games at Stamford Bridge.
Spurs have won just one of their last 41 visits in all competitions since 1990.
Chelsea did the double over Spurs for the third consecutive season last year, winning 1-0 away and 2-1 at home.