Another London Derby is up in the Premier League this weekend, as European champions Chelsea welcome Tottenham Hotspurs to the Bridge in a Matchday Five top fixture.
This promises to be an exciting match up between two sides that have started their domestic campaigns on a positive note.
They go into this fixture with contrasting results from their last two matches. The Blues comfortably took out Aston Villa 3-0 in their last Premier League match, before edging Russian side Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.
Tottenham on the other hand, ingloriously lost 3-0 to Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace in the Premier League, and managed only a 2-2 draw away to French Ligue 1 side Rennes in the newly introduced UEFA Conference League.
The form books puts Chelsea as the favorites to clinch this tie. This is based on their impressive start to the campaign as they are yet to taste defeat thus far, and have been able to keep every opponent at arms length. It however must be said that this is a derby where the form books are thrown into the thrash, and the team that wants it most ends up getting all three points. If there is any team in the Premier League that can cause a damage to Chelsea's dominant form, it is Nuno Espirito Santo's Tottenham who have already handed Manchester City their first defeat of the season.
Going into the fixture this weekend, Chelsea needs to do the following in order to emerge winners on the day.
ATTACK RUTHLESSLY:
Many have praised Thomas Tuchel for the defensive solidity he has brought to this Chelsea side, but what is less spoken about is the squad's depth in attack.
The Blues have one of the richest attacks in European football. They currently boast of more than six forwards who all have clearly different profiles and characteristics in their fold. The likes of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Romelu Lukaku have what the personality to strike fear into opposing defense. However, if they intend to get a result against Spurs, they must be fluid and the incisive in the final third.
TEAM SELECTION MUST BE SPOT ON:
For very good reasons, no manager would want to be in the shoes of Thomas Tuchel at the moment. The Chelsea Manager currently has a few selection headaches.
French midfielder N’Golo Kante has returned from injury earlier than expected, and Tuchel has to pick two midfielders from the combative Frenchman, Matteo Kovacic, Jorginho and new signing Saul Niguez.
Kovacic and Jorginho were favored to start in the match against Zenit St Petersburg, and were introduced in the second half against Aston Villa last weekend. Based on their impressive showing, they may be the ones to be called upon again.
Saul’s debut against Villa was not a bad performance, but wasn't the best he could offer giving his abilities. It is proof that he needs more time to adapt to the league, and would be a huge risk to start him against such a difficult opponent as Spurs.
Chelsea do not have the luxury of mistakes against players like Harry Kane.
THE BIG BOYS MUST STEP UP:
To whom much is given, much is expected, and truly, club-record signing Romelu Lukaku has put in some impressive performance since his arrival this summer. He has scored four goals in three matches. The game against Spurs is such that count in the long run if Chelsea wants to win the league. So players like Lukaku must step up once again against the Tottenham.
The Belgian has shown that he doesn't need too many touches to score a goal and could fancy his chances against a lightweight Spurs defense. However, the wingers must feed him with a lot of supplies constantly and steadily. His speed. despite his size is an advantage Chelsea can bank on to get past the Tottenham defenders.
Chelsea's defenders must also play their path in neutralizing the threats of Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Dele Alli.
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