Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur square off at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon looking to build on their victories on the first weekend of the new Premier League season.
Spurs comprehensively defeated Southampton by a 4-1 scoreline before Chelsea edged a closer game away at Everton later in the day.
Match preview
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With Chelsea still looking to move players in and out of the club, there was a vulnerability about the Blues as they faced Everton at Goodison Park.
Nevertheless, Thomas Tuchel watched his side come through by a 1-0 scoreline, Jorginho scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot.
There were aspects of Chelsea's performance which would have disappointed their head coach, but this was a fixture where only the end result mattered as Chelsea look to keep pace in the title race.
In terms of new arrivals, little has changed ahead of this London derby aside from Marc Cucurella being provided with a full week alongside his new teammates.
That said, Tuchel will expect a far more efficient display from his team, who will be aware that they have to develop a ruthless streak in their game similar to that of their opponents.
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Under the guidance of Antonio Conte, Spurs have been transformed from a club struggling to secure Europa League football to a team which look the most capable of challenging Manchester City and Liverpool this season.
Fulfilling that potential is far easier said than done, but Conte has assembled a squad that will be bitterly disappointed if they do not finish in the top three or achieve silverware come the end of the campaign.
Despite making a slow start against Southampton last weekend, Spurs responded by netting four times without either of Son Heung-min or Harry Kane getting on the scoresheet.
While Conte will take a certain level of satisfaction out of that, he will acknowledge internally that a game of this magnitude will test the credentials of his players.
Spurs head into this contest having lost five successive games against Chelsea and failed to defeat their rivals in the Premier League since 2018.
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Team News
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Tuchel will give consideration to handing a first start to Cucurella with Ben Chilwell still on the comeback trail after a serious knee injury.
Armando Broja is pushing Kai Havertz for a spot in the final third, while Tuchel must decide whether to stick with the central-midfield pairing of Jorginho and N'Golo Kante.
Although Kalidou Koulibaly was withdrawn with cramp last weekend, the Senegalese is expected to be fine to start this fixture, but Mateo Kovacic misses out with a knee injury.
Barring any injury issues, Conte will almost certainly stick with the same starting lineup from the win over Southampton.
Richarlison is expected to feature among the replacements after serving a suspension carried over from his time at Everton.
Oliver Skipp remains on the sidelines with a hairline fracture of his heel, while Clement Lenglet has a minor issue with his adductor.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Jorginho, Kante, Cucurella; Sterling, Mount; Havertz
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son
We say: Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Regardless of Chelsea's winning streak against Spurs, this game is far from a foregone conclusion with Spurs likely to be made favourites in some quarters. Both teams are hoping to close the gap on the top two and, with that in mind, we are predicting a thrilling and competitive London derby to play out at Stamford Bridge.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Darren Plant
