A thriving Tottenham team should be full of confidence on Sunday when they look to stop Chelsea’s mini resurgence.
Spurs are only four points off the leaders and stand in fifth place in the league; they are the only team still unbeaten since the first day of the season.
After an uncharacteristic start to the season Chelsea sit 15th in the table and will be hoping to press on from their first win in four games last week against Norwich.
When the teams met at White Hart Lane last season Spurs thrashed Chelsea 5-3, with Harry Kane scoring twice.
And Spurs’ star striker will be hoping to get on the score sheet again against their London rivals, having scored 12 times in 14 Premier league games against London opposition.
Meanwhile, Diego Costa will be looking to get his season going after scoring just his third goal for Chelsea this season last week.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says his side have to play every game like they are ‘fighting for the title’ in order to fight their way back up the table.
“The reality is that we need points,” he said. “We are all focused on doing our job the best we can. The only thing we can do is try to get the maximum amount of points.
“Chelsea is a big club; big clubs have difficult moments and cope with them. They try to build to have good moments again.”
While Chelsea played in the Champions League on Tuesday, Tottenham played more recently on Thursday in the Europa League.
Despite this Mauricio Pochettino said his side will be ready for Chelsea.
“We will make sure we will arrive in a good condition to play Chelsea. We have a strong squad and a strong mentality.
“It is true we arrive maybe not in the best condition to compete in the right way but [we] respect our medical staff for what they do.”
Team News:
Tottenham:
–Kyle Walker and Mousa Dembele return to the squad after being rested in mid-week
-Dele Alli is suspended after picking up five yellow cards
– Nabil Bentaleb is still out with a foot injury
-Erik Lamela could return
Chelsea:
– Thibaut Courtois is still out but could return next month
-John Terry and Ramires will face late fitness tests after picking up knocks mid-week
