Mauricio Pochettino will lead Chelsea to face Tottenham Hotspur in a London derby at 9 p.m. on Monday, November 6, for the first time since Spurs sacked him four years ago.
Pochettino used to be one of the most loved personalities at Tottenham Hotspur, but the fans have transferred that love to their new coach, Ange Postecoglou, who has been doing a terrific job since he took charge.
However, whether the Spurs fans love Pochettino or not wouldn't be the concern of the former Spurs manager, who is making efforts to overturn Chelsea's woes, starting with his former beloved club.
Note that under the watch of Pochettino, Chelsea have been so inconsistent that they have recorded four defeats, three draws, and just three wins in ten Premier League games. This woeful start to the season has pushed Chelsea down to the 11th spot with just 12 points in ten games.
Hence, the injury-bedeviled side is condemned to win Monday's derby to begin their upward movement on the league table.
Unfortunately, the Blues are visiting Tottenham Hotspur stadium when Spurs are currently enjoying one of their best forms in history under the tutelage of Postecoglou. The Australian coach and Arsenal's Mikel Arteta are the only managers who are yet to record a defeat in the Premier League so far this season.
Postecoglou's case has been so good that Spurs have recorded 8 wins and just two draws in ten league games. This performance has placed them top of the league table with 26 points, two points above second and third-placed Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively.
Since Chelsea wouldn't be banking on their current form in the forthcoming London derby, they would bask in the understanding that coach Pochettino has proven to be a better manager in big games.
Recall that despite Chelsea's poor form, he has managed to record a 1-1 draw against Liverpool and a 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
Aside from that, Chelsea have scored more Premier League goals against Tottenham (51) than any other club, and they have recorded the most wins (77) against Spurs' 56 wins.
Also, no team in the Premier League has recorded four successive victories at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in all competitions except Chelsea. Hence, the London derby might not be one-sided as projected by some pundits.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea: Team News:
Tottenham left-backs Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie will undergo fitness tests to ascertain their level of fitness ahead of Chelsea's visit. Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, and Manor Solomon are still sidelined due to fitness issues.
Chelsea's two forwards, Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja, returned to training this week and might be selected for the London Derby.
Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, and Ben Chilwell are still absent due to fitness issues.
Chelsea's Probable Starting Lineup: Caicedo, Gallagher, Fernandez; Palmer, Jackson, Sterling; James, Silva, Colwill, Cucurella, and Sanchez
Tottenham Probable starting Lineup: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Davies; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Richarlison; Son.
Prediction: Based on current form, Tottenham Hotspur have at least a 39 per cent chance of beating Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Monday. At the same time, Chelsea have just a 20 per cent chance of causing an upset. However, there is a 41 per cent chance that the game would end in a draw. Hence, Chelsea will leave North London with a 1-1 draw.
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