Team news (via Sky Sports)
- Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel confirmed in his press conference that Kurt Zouma and Kai Havertz both have ‘little issues’ and are doubtful for the game.
N’Golo Kante and Hakim Ziyech are fit and available.
- Tottenham
Jose Mourinho confirmed that Harry Kane will miss the tie after picking up an ankle injury last week.
Spurs will also be without Dele Alli (tendon), Sergio Reguilon (muscle) and Giovani Lo Celso (hamstring).
Stats to know (via Opta)
- Tottenham have lost two of their last three home league games against Chelsea (W1).
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last four Premier League meetings with Spurs (W3 D1), keeping a clean sheet in three of these games.
- Chelsea have lost four of their last five away league games (W1), although those occurred with Frank Lampard still in charge.
- Just two of Chelsea’s 17 Premier League managers have lost their first ever London derby in the competition (W9 D6) – Guus Hiddink and Andre Villas-Boas.
- Tuchel became the first Chelsea manager to keep a clean sheet in each of his first two Premier League games in charge since Rafael Benitez in November 2012.
Predicted line-up
Match predictions
Lewis Jones, Sky Sports: Spurs 0-2 Chelsea
“Mourinho looks to have a confidence-drained side that look no better than a mid-table outfit. Kane alleviates the creative load on Spurs’ central midfielders but without him in the team, Pierre Emile-Hojberg is forced into doing a job that doesn’t fit his industrious style. It’s easy to see Chelsea absolutely dominating the midfield battle in this one.
“Thomas Tuchel has added a bit of belief and energy into the Chelsea attacking ranks. This looks a perfect time to play Spurs to me.”
Mark Lawrenson, BBC: Spurs 1-1 Chelsea
“This is Thomas Tuchel’s biggest test so far as Chelsea manager, even with Tottenham on a poor run of form. It seems to be the same old story with Spurs – Harry Kane gets injured, and they are not the same team without him.
“Gareth Bale’s arrival last September was meant to help change that, but he looks a shadow of his former self.”
Managers’ quotes
Thomas Tuchel (via Chelsea FC): “I am very happy to compete with a strong team against his side. I am very happy to arrive with our quality, with our mentality and with the atmosphere we have right now.
“Tottenham are very competitive and very strong. It will be a challenge. Is it a clash of cultures? I don’t know. Jose is a winner and I want to implement the same in my team. We are at the highest level to win games and we will try everything tomorrow to beat them in their stadium.”
Jose Mourinho (via Goal.com): “Chelsea is Chelsea. They changed the coach but they did not change the players. There are lots of very good players, lots of potential in that squad. They had a good coach with Frank, who was doing a good job with them, they have a good coach now with Tuchel.”
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