Tottenham vs Chelsea tips and predictions: Fiery London derby in store as old foes renew rivalry

Tottenham state of play  

Ange Postecoglou’s men have been inconsistent in recent weeks with a 4-0 demolition of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium the highlight of a topsy-turvy campaign so far. 

Spurs have scored 17 home goals in the Premier League from seven games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with an xG (expected goals) rating of 13.93. 

They are averaging 6.1 shots on target in these games. However, they’ve won only one game in their last six matches in all competitions. 

They go into this game having been beaten 1-0 away at Bournemouth and currently lie 10th in the Premier League table.

Chelsea state of play

The Blues are on the comeback trail this season under Enzo Maresca. A relatively poor campaign last season saw Chelsea finish sixth with Cole Palmer holding them together.

However, Maresca seems to have got their squad of highly-talented players into a functioning unit. They made it look easy against Aston Villa last weekend, winning 3-0 with Cole Palmer scoring yet again making it 28 goal involvements in 23 games at Stamford Bridge. 

Chelsea shuffled the pack to great effect for the 5-1 away win at Southampton, with Maresca clearly keen to utilise his whole squad. 

It’s now three wins on the bounce for Chelsea in the Premier League and they move up to second place on the same points as Arsenal. The Blues do tend to concede, with the opposition netting in eight of their last nine Premier League outings.

Key talking point: Can Dejan Kulusevski keep up his form in his new role for Spurs? 

Dejan Kulusevski has had five goal involvements (goal or assist) in 12 Premier League starts, and in all competitions he has made five assists in his last seven starts. 

The Swedish international is averaging 1.5 shots per game in the Premier League. He is doing his best work in a new formation and a free role off central striker Dominic Solanke. 

His run of form in this new-look position has manager Postecoglou believing he won’t stop until he reaches the very top of the game.

Keep an eye out for Kulusevski to get into the pockets of space and around the back of the Chelsea defence and create plenty of chances from slide-rule balls and crosses. 

Spurs’ style of play has seen both teams scoring in six of their last eight matches in all competitions.

FIRST’s top tip for Spurs vs Chelsea 

Kulusevski has five assists in his last seven starts. If Spurs are on the front foot then it’s the forward usually running the show. 

Back Kulusevski to assist at 4/1 with Mr.Play

Extra tips 

With a combined total of 19 goals scored in the last four games and a combined xG of 58.05 in the Premier League between the two sides added to the attacking style of both managers, we should see both sides netting here again.

Back BTTS (both teams to score) at 1/3 with bet365. 

There also looks to be some value in backing Kulusevski to have over 0.5 shots on target at 6/5 at bet365. And the odds are much longer if you fancy the Swede to have over 1.5 shots on target.

Kulusevski to have over 1.5 shots on target at 7/1 with bet365. 

Team news

Rodrigo Bentancur sits this one out through suspension while Micky van de Ven remains sidelined. It also looks too early for Cristian Romero to return from injury and Ben Davies looks set to be out for this one after being forced off against Bournemouth.

Keeper Guglielmo Vicario remains out long-term after breaking his ankle, with Fraser Forster continuing to deputise. 

For Chelsea, Reece James is still out, while Wesley Fofana is struggling to be fit. Mykhailo Mudryk sat out the victory against Southampton midweek due to illness. 

Chelsea rotated their squad in midweek but expect to see a similar team that played against Aston Villa for the Spurs clash.

Spurs vs Chelsea predicted line-ups  

Spurs: Forster; Porro, Gray, Dragusin, Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Solanke (4-2-3-1)

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson (4-2-3-1)

Form guide (all competitions) 

Spurs: WLWWLLWDDL

Chelsea: WWLDWDWWWW

Odds correct at the time of writing.