Tottenham v Chelsea preview: Spurs host out of sorts London rivals
This is a fixture that has haunted Spurs down the years, winning just seven of 61 H2Hs in the PL era (D21, L33), only suffering more defeats in the competition’s history to Manchester United (39).
It’s not a record that’s on an upswing either, with Spurs winning just one of the last 12 H2Hs in all competitions (D2, L9).
Tottenham can at least boast an 11-point lead over Chelsea in the PL, although they remain without ex-Blues boss Antonio Conte on the touchline as he recovers from surgery in Italy.
That may not be disastrous news though, with assistant manager Cristian Stellini winning all three of his games as the main man in the dugout this term.
Spurs may need that pristine record to continue, as with Newcastle not in PL action this weekend, they can open up a four-point gap to the Magpies inside the top-four.
There has hardly been a better time to face Chelsea since the turn of the century, with confidence at an all-time low and manager Graham Potter’s position under scrutiny following reports of a crisis meeting at Stamford Bridge.
It’s clear to see why, with their 1-0 defeat at Southampton making it one win from eight PL outings (D4, L3), and leaving Potter with the lowest win rate of any Blues manager in the PL era (29.4 per cent).
Finding the net remains Chelsea’s biggest issue, with their last ten games in all competitions seeing them score just four times.
The Blues have scored an average of two goals-per-game from their last three PL visits to Tottenham though (W3), a record that may provide inspiration to end an ongoing seven-match winless run on the road in the PL - failing to win an eighth would be their worst such streak since going 16 without victory between April 2000 and March 2001.
Key battle: Tottenham talisman Harry Kane has nine goal contributions (G7, A2) against Chelsea across 21 H2H meetings (W6, D4, L11) while picking up a career-high eight yellow cards against the Blues. He’ll likely be shepherded by Thiago Silva, who has lost just one of eight clashes with Spurs (W4, D3), also getting on the scoresheet twice.
Hot streak: Tottenham are the only PL side yet to draw a home game this season (W8, L4).
