Tottenham vs Chelsea: Preview & Prediction

Tottenham host Chelsea on Sunday looking to extend their unbeaten run to 13 league matches and move to within three points of the top.

Spurs have not lost since their 1-0 opening day defeat at Manchester United and face a Chelsea side, who despite two wins in the last week, have endured a difficult season to date.

Striker Harry Kane will be relishing the chance to improve his phenomenal scoring record in London derbies.

The England forward’s double in the impressive 4-1 win over West Ham last week means he now has 12 goals in 14 derbies and has scored has nine in his last six Tottenham games after netting the winner at Qarabag on Thursday.

However, a victory in this one will only be the host’s second over Chelsea in the last 11 attempts in the Premier League.

Blues manager Jose Mourinho will be wary though as the last meeting between these two ended in a 5-3 win in which Kane scored twice on New Year’s Day.

Chelsea narrowly beat Norwich 1-0 last weekend to put a halt to a three game losing streak which had put Mourinho’s men within three points of the relegation zone.

Before that win the Blues, who can move up to 13th with three points, had picked up only seven points from a possible 28 in the league.

A comprehensive 4-0 victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League on Tuesday suggests that the champions are slowly turning a corner but Spurs will put that theory to the ultimate test.

What Tottenham will be wary of is giving away fouls on the edge of their area. Willian has now scored six free-kicks from just 12 attempts this season.

Team News:

Spurs will have to make do without Dele Alli, who serves a one-match ban, whilst Nabil Bentaleb and Nacir Chadli (both ankle) are still out.

Kyle Walker, Mousa Dembele and Danny Rose will return to the side after being rested for Thursday’s trip to Azerbaijan.

John Terry is a major doubt after suffering an ankle injury in midweek and Jose Mourinho blamed the surface in Tel Aviv as Ramires, who is also expected to miss out, also suffered a knock.

Thibaut Courtois and Radamel Falcao remain sidelined with injuries.

League Position: Tottenham – 5th (24 pts); Chelsea – 15th (14 pts)
Last Meeting: Tottenham 5-3 Chelsea (January, 2015)
Key Players: Tottenham – Harry Kane; Chelsea – Willian
Form: Tottenham – DDWWDW; Chelsea – LWLLLW
Shoot Says: Tottenham 3-1 Chelsea