This Sunday’s London derby sees Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League.
Tottenham started the season very well by beating Manchester City 1-0 at home. After limping to 1-0 wins over Wolves and Watford, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men were given a reality check by Crystal Palace in the form of a 3-0 battering at Selhurst Park last weekend.
The north Londoners got away with a 2-2 draw with Rennes in the Europa Conference League on Thursday but Nuno will expect a better display against Chelsea, who are just flying at the moment and joint top of the Premier League.
Team News
Tottenham have been handed a double injury blow ahead of the Chelsea clash after Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura limped off the pitch in the 2-2 Europa Conference League draw with Rennes. Ryan Sessegnon (knock) should miss out again.
Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso and Davinson Sanchez, who were all in isolation on an island in Croatia after deciding to travel for international duty to South America, arrived back on Saturday.
Also, Spurs are hopeful of having Heung-Min Son and Eric Dier back fit in time for the game against their London rivals. Son had picked up a calf injury on international duty for South Korea while Dier limped off with a dead leg against Crystal Palace.
Japhet Tanganga will miss Sunday’s game due to suspension having picked up a red card in Spurs’ 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Predicted Tottenham lineup vs Chelsea (3-5-2)
Goalkeeper
Hugo Lloris was on the bench on Thursday, with summer signing Pierluigi Gollini starting in goal against Rennes. But, Lloris is set to be restored to the Tottenham lineup against Chelsea.
Defence
With Japhet Tanganga suspended, and the likes of Cristian Romero and Davinson Sanchez to arrive in England just 24 hours before the matchday, Nuno is very light as far as his central defensive options are concerned.
That could force him to go to a back three shape on Sunday, with Eric Dier, who is expected to be fit, starting in the centre of the backline. Joe Rodon should keep his place in the starting XI after making his first appearance of the season at Crystal Palace. Ben Davies could be the third centre-back in the Tottenham lineup against Chelsea.
Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal could get more freedom to go forward and contribute to Tottenham’s attacks from their wing-back positions.
Midfield
Oliver Skipp has done very well in midfield since the start of the season and deserves to keep his place in the Tottenham lineup. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who scored in the 2-2 draw with Rennes, provides a lot of energy and tenacity to Tottenham’s midfield. He should start with Harry Winks getting the nod over Tanguy Ndombele, who despite impressing on his first game of the season at Rennes in France will need to be managed carefully due to his injury problems.
Attack
With Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura set to miss the game and Heung-Min Son likely to be fit to start only on the bench, Nuno could push Dele Alli higher up the field and close to Harry Kane, who didn’t have a single shot or a touch of the ball in the Crystal Palace penalty area and suffered a frustrating afternoon last weekend.
The combination of Alli and Kane in and around the box could be vital if Spurs are to get a positive result against their London nemesis.
