Tottenham and Chelsea lock horns again at Wembley in what should be a hard-fought and feisty encounter on Saturday evening.
The big game of the Premier League return takes place at Wembley as third-placed Chelsea tackle fourth-placed Tottenham in a game filled with local rivalry.
Temperatures still run high from the infamous 'Battle of the Bridge' that ended Spurs' title hopes a couple of years ago, and both sides are again at the sharp end of proceedings after 12 games of the season.
Maurizio Sarri has led his team to an unbeaten start in his first season in charge, and Mauricio Pochettino would like nothing more than to end that streak at Wembley.
Spurs themselves have enjoyed a record Premier League start but have not got the credit they deserve. Criticism around their failure to add to the squad looks wide of the mark now they're just a point off Chelsea, three off Liverpool and five behind Man City.
You never know how teams will perform after the international break but they're pretty evenly matched these sides, and with a draw not being the worst result for either that's the result to be looking at.
Betting guide
Prediction: Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea (Sky Bet odds: 6/1)
Spurs have been a tad brittle at home while Chelsea have been almost perfect away, but there's been an extra bit of steel in the way Spurs have played of late and after a break, against their fierce rivals, they'll be in must-not-lose mode. In truth this could go either way but when there's a game like that, especially between two big side, then the draw is always a worth play.
Best bet: Draw & both teams to score at 7/2
It's a struggle to pick anything that stands out. A score draw is the preference here so we're taking the 0-0 out of the equation, but also not going near the over 2.5 goals market as 1-1 is a perfectly reasonable prediction for games of this magnitude.
RequestABet: 10+ corners, 50+ booking points, over 1.5 goals, Kante & Rudiger to be booked
We're dodging the result and scorers here to try and focus on match events that seem a lot more likely. Corners and bookings look a certainty in a blood-and-thunder game at Wembley, and there should be goals, but we're playing it conservatively on that front and heading the way of yellow cards for the Chelsea pair who've got four each this season.
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Tottenham v Chelsea Opta stats
- Tottenham have won three of their last seven Premier League games against Chelsea, as many as they’d won in their previous 49 top-flight games against the Blues (W3 D18 L28).
- Chelsea have won just two of their last 12 away games vs Tottenham in league competition (D5 L5), though they did win this exact fixture 2-1 last season.
- Tottenham are looking to win consecutive league games against Chelsea for the first time since August 1987.
- Chelsea have kept 21 Premier League clean sheets against Spurs – against no side have they kept more in the competition.
- This will be the seventh meeting between Tottenham and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium – Chelsea have beaten Spurs four times, more than any club has beaten another at the ground.
- Only Arsenal (51.2%), have a better win rate in Premier League London derbies than Chelsea (50.6%) and Spurs (35.3%).
- Tottenham have won just 22% of their Premier League points in home games this season (6/27), the lowest ratio in the division.
- None of Tottenham’s last 16 Premier League games have ended in a draw (W12 L4) – the longest current such run in the competition.
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their 12 Premier League games this season – only in 2014-15 (14) have they had a longer unbeaten run from the start of a top-flight campaign.
- Tottenham’s Dele Alli has scored five goals in his last four games against Chelsea in all competitions.
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