Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to continue their unbeaten run in the Premier League under Antonio Conte when they head to his former club, Chelsea, later this afternoon.
The two teams have already played each other twice this month, courtesy of their two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final, where Spurs were knocked out by the Champions of Europe by a 3-0 aggregate scoreline.
What is your prediction for Tottenham’s trip to Chelsea?
Blues win
Draw
Spurs win
Conte has plenty of decisions to make over his starting XI heading into kickoff, so it will be interesting to see what sort of side he opts for, having failed to score against the Blues.
The Lilywhites are on the cusp of breaking into the top four and a result on the Italian’s old stomping ground would seriously bolster things.
There are also injuries to contend with, so here is our predicted line-up for this exciting encounter at Stamford Bridge…
There could be as many as three changes from the side that recorded a last-gasp win at Leicester City in midweek.
Fresh from signing a contract extension at the club, Hugo Lloris is expected to remain between the sticks as club captain and being the no.1 goalkeeper but there’s an alteration to the three in front of him as Conte is able to welcome back Eric Dier from injury.
He should join Ben Davies and Davinson Sanchez.
Meanwhile, Sergio Reguilon made his comeback from injury at the King Power and is likely to be involved again. However, his fellow wing-back Emerson Royal could be dropped today.
He was taken off at half-time during the win and according to Conte, that was because he was carrying a knock. Matt Doherty came on in his place and looked the much better option, anyway. He should start over the Brazilian summer signing.
The midfield remains largely the same, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg partnering Oliver Skipp, though there is no place for £91k-per-week youth product Harry Winks, who returns to the bench to allow Wednesday night’s hero Steven Bergwijn a rare start.
He should then join Lucas Moura and Harry Kane in the attack, with Heung-min Son still absent through injury.
Predicted Spurs XI (3-4-3): Lloris; Davies, Dier, Sanchez; Reguilon, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Doherty; Bergwijn, Moura, Kane.
AND in other news, “Talks ongoing”: Fabrizio Romano drops transfer claim that’ll leave Spurs fans buzzing…