Tottenham Hotspur are playing host to what’s poised to be a frenetic London derby on Saturday evening, as Chelsea make the short trip to N17.
The Blues have enjoyed themselves at Spurs’ impressive new home, scoring four on each of their previous two visits. They’ve dominated the head-to-head duel with their capital rivals since the Premier League’s inauguration, so a win for the hosts has the potential to ignite the Thomas Frank era.
The Dane has guided his side to third in the Premier League table off the back of their set-piece proficiency, but they’ve flattered to deceive in Europe and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle United on Wednesday night. Chelsea, meanwhile, held off a Wolverhampton Wanderers fightback at Molineux to advance into the quarterfinals.
Enzo Maresca’s Blues have been plagued by ill discipline at the start of 2025–26, but they couldn’t blame a red card for their home defeat to Sunderland last week that leaves them ninth in the table heading into Saturday’s game.
Frank has confirmed a triple injury boost ahead of Chelsea’s visit, with Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert all set to return to his matchday squad on Saturday. Captain Romero has missed the previous four outings with a groin issue.
The Argentine will come back into the Spurs defence, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Frank switch to a back three, given Chelsea’s struggles against Sunderland last weekend. Kevin Danso could thus retain his place despite Romero’s return.
Djed Spence may get the nod over Udogie down the left, with the Italian more likely to earn minutes off the bench.
James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Kota Takai, Ben Davies, Radu Drăgușin, Archie Gray, Yves Bissouma and Dominic Solanke are all sidelined through injury.
Chelsea’s injury list isn’t quite as extensive as Tottenham’s, but Maresca is without a couple of key names this weekend, most notably Cole Palmer. The Blues playmaker took over this fixture last season, but he won’t be back in action until after the November international break.
Levi Colwill is out for the long haul, while Dário Essugo and Benoît Badiashile are also sidelined. Liam Delap’s dismissal on Wednesday night means he’s suspended for Saturday’s game.
An array of Maresca’s first-choice players either earned rests or appeared off the bench at Molineux and will return to the Italian’s starting XI in north London. Wesley Fofana may also find himself back in the defence, given the Blues’ recent issues at the back.
