Chelsea’s next game in the Premier League sees them host London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. This has, historically, been a favourable fixture for the West Londoners; at least, that has been the case in the Premier League.
Chelsea's Marc Cucurella celebrates scoring their first goal with Enzo Fernandez
The Blues’ record at Stamford Bridge against Spurs since the 1992/92 season is exceptional. In 32 top flight games, they have won 20, drawn 11 and lost just one. In that time, they have scored 61 goals to the Lilywhites’ 23.
Last season, this fixture ended 2-0 to Chelsea, thanks to goals from defender Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson. Surprisingly, it was a rare game in which Cole Palmer failed to register a goal involvement.
However, he will have a chance to do so on Thursday night, with Enzo Maresca bearing good news about his return from injury.
Chelsea team news vs. Spurs
Well, Chelsea fans can breathe a sigh of relief because Palmer will return to action against Spurs. After missing England duty and the last Premier League game against Arsenal, Maresca explained, “Cole is back, he is ok. He is better”, in his pre-match press conference.
Chelsea star Cole Palmer
The Wythenshawe-born sensation has actually been on a bit of a goal drought in recent weeks but still has 14 goals and seven assists in 28 Premier League games this term.
He scored twice away from home against the Lilywhites in a 4-3 earlier in the season, including a clever panenka, and will surely be hoping to repeat the feat this week at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer is not the only England international returning to the Blues’ first team this week. Noni Madueke is also returning to the first-team fold after missing the last four Premier League games with a hamstring injury.
Maresca confirmed the former PSV Eindhoven star is “better” and seemingly will be available for selection against the Lilywhites, where he played academy football. Madueke will be looking to add to his eight goals and four assists this term.
Chelsea winger Noni Madueke
Having Palmer and Madueke back is a huge boost for Maresca, but they are not the only attacking stars returning to action for Chelsea. The Blues boss also has a deadly forward available who could do Spurs some damage.
The returning Chelsea star who can unlock Palmer
Not only are the two England internationals back in action this week for the Blues, but so is Jackson, one of the goal-scorers from last season against the North Londoners.
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He has missed the last five league games with a hamstring issue, but Maresca also said he is “better”, describing the returning trio as “all good”.
It has been an impressive season for Jackson on the whole. He has featured 23 times in the Premier League, scoring nine times and grabbing five assists.
nicolas-jackson-chelsea-premier-league
His all-round centre-forward play seems to have improved this term, given he has already matched his assist tally from 2023/24. Jamie Carragher described the 23-year-old as a “handful” at the start of February.
Indeed, the stats on FBref certainly back up how much trouble he can cause opposition defences. For example, in the Premier League this season, he averages 0.52 goal-creating actions, ranking him in the top 12% of strikers in the English top flight.
Jackson key stats in 2024/25 PL season vs. Strikers
Stat (per 90)
Shots on target
Non-penalty expected goals
Assists
Shot-creating actions
Goal-creating actions
Stats from FBref
Football scout Antonio Mango said Jackson’s “movement is key to unlocking Cole Palmer”, with the movement he makes creating space for the England international to exploit. This seems like something the Blues would appreciate, given Palmer’s goal drought over the last few weeks.
Indeed, his elite movement off the ball was evident at the start of his Chelsea career. In September 2023, analyst Nick Wright wrote a piece for Sky Sports, which noted that 'Jackson has made more off-the-ball runs than any other Premier League player this season'. Already, you can see how good Jackson is at moving off the ball to facilitate his teammates.
Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer for Chelsea
If given the chance, Jackson definitely has the potential to hurt Spurs this evening. The fact that he can facilitate Palmer so well with his elite movement, plus his ability in front of goal, makes him a great weapon in Chelsea's arsenal ahead of this crunch clash on Thursday night.
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