A London derby that rarely fails to deliver endless entertainment, Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea on Saturday in the pick of this weekend's Premier League fixtures.
The fierce rivals enter gameweek 10 on the back of contrasting EFL Cup results, as Spurs were dumped out by Newcastle Unitedwhile the Blues edged a seven-goal spectacular with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Match preview
One shot at domestic silverware has already passed Thomas Frank by, as his consistently inconsistent Tottenham side were no match for Newcastle's aerial prowess at St James' Park on Wednesday evening.
Two headers from Fabian Schar and the towering Nick Woltemade was all it took for the Magpies to eliminate Spurs from the fourth round of the EFL Cup, the rudest of rude awakenings for the Lilywhites after their statement Premier League success a few days beforehand.
The Europa League winners became the first side to sink Everton at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium home, where flying Dutchman Micky van de Ven inspired Tottenham to their fifth Premier League win of the campaign with a brilliant brace before Pape Sarr also got in on the act.
A run of just one win from five games does not paint a pretty picture for Tottenham, but the Premier League table arguably does - only leaders Arsenal and second-placed Bournemouth are better off than Spurs, who sit five points below the Gunners after nine games.
However, the hosts do not have their home form to thank for their bronze medal placement - Tottenham have taken just one point from their last three top-flight games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where only Burnley have succumbed to defeat in the Premier League this term.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca on October 29, 2025
Such a statistic spells pessimism against a Chelsea side rejoicing in their third consecutive win away from home, albeit an incredibly hard-fought one, as Premier League basement boys Wolves came close but no cigar to pulling off a captivating EFL Cup comeback.
Despite the customary Chelsea red card - this time to Liam Delap - the Club World Cup winners' young guns did the damage in an absorbing 4-3 success, one that was particularly momentous for the history of English football.
Indeed, the seven-goal thriller marked the first time that a Premier League side had four different scorers aged 21 or under in a single game, but neither Chelsea's juvenile prospects nor senior stars could prevent the Blues from falling to a shock loss to Sunderland in the top flight.
That 2-1 upset at Stamford Bridge - Chelsea's third loss in five league games - left Maresca's men in an unremarkable ninth in the standings, and only twice before have the visitors lost four times in their opening 10 matches of a Premier League campaign.
However, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a particularly happy haunt for Chelsea, whose unforgettable 4-3 success there last season represented their fifth Premier League victory at the ground - no visiting team has won more.
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:
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Chelsea Premier League form:
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Chelsea form (all competitions):
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Team News
Chelsea's Liam Delap speaks to the referee on October 29, 2025
Currently navigating their way around the worst injury crisis in the Premier League, Tottenham have concerns in the double figures ahead of Saturday's game, which Yves Bissouma (ankle), Kota Takai (ankle), Dominic Solanke (ankle), Radu Dragusin (knee), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), James Maddison (knee) and Ben Davies (thigh) will definitely miss.
Cristian Romero (adductor), Destiny Udogie (knee), Archie Gray (calf) and Wilson Odobert (abdominal) will all need once-overs ahead of the derby too, but Frank has affirmed that Guglielmo Vicario - an enforced absentee against Newcastle - will be fine for the visit of the Blues.
In brighter news, a well-rested Van de Ven will return to his rightful role in the Lilywhites' backline, while Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani are all in contention to start up front.
However, Chelsea's attacking options have once again been hit by a disciplinary blow, as Delap serves a one-game ban for picking up two yellow cards at Molineux on Wednesday evening.
The former Manchester City youngster - whose sending-off was slammed as "very stupid" by Maresca- will be one of six Blues absentees on Saturday alongside Cole Palmer (groin), Dario Essugo (thigh), Benoit Badiashile (muscle), Levi Colwill (knee) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping suspension).
Maresca went with both Joao Pedro and Marc Guiu in central roles against Sunderland, but Andrey Santos ought to have played his way into a start this weekend, but Jamie Gittens may lose out to a well-rested Alejandro Garnacho despite his goal and two assists in midweek.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Palhinha; Kudus, Bergvall, Simons; Kolo Muani
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Neto, Santos, Garnacho; Pedro
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We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Chelsea
Chaos is so often the order of the day when Spurs face Chelsea at home, and with the Blues sharing 16 goals across their last three games in all tournaments, Saturday is likely to be no different.
Confidently predicting which version of Frank's Tottenham will show up is a fool's errand, and the Lilywhites are equally effective and vulnerable from dead-ball situations, so a gripping draw could be on the cards here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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