Tottenham v Chelsea
Chelsea head to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham as they look to build some momentum after a mixed start to their Premier League season.
In their past three league fixtures Chelsea have beaten Fulham, lost to Everton and drawn with Manchester United. While the results may not have been those that the Blues fans would have wanted, perhaps more worryingly has been the lack of precision and efficiency that the team has demonstrated in previous seasons, as Jose Mourinho attempts to stamp is own style of play on the team.
Mourinho will enter into a battle of wits with a former Chelsea manager on Saturday as Andre Villas-Boas welcomes his former employers to north London.
Having spent less than a year at Stamford Bridge before he was replaced by Roberto di Matteo, Villas-Boas has gone on to gain many plaudits during his time with Spurs and will be hoping to prove a point against Chelsea.
Tottenham have enjoyed a strong start to the season, having won four of their five matches thus far. However, their victories all came against sides not expected to challenge for top six places. With this in mind, a win against Chelsea would go a long way to proving that Spurs are genuine title contenders.
Both managers have injury concerns ahead of the clash. Spurs will be without striker Emmanuel Adebayor (illness), midfielder Etienne Capoue (ankle), while winger Aaron Lennon (foot) and defender Younes Kaboul (adductor) are both doubtful.
However, defender Danny Rose is expected to return after recovering from a toe injury.
Chelsea will be without Dutch midfielder Marco Van Ginkel, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season after damaging knee ligaments against Swindon in midweek.
Fellow midfielder Ramires is a doubtful starter as he struggles to overcome a hip injury.
Juan Mata, David Luiz, Fernando Torres and Willian all started against Swindon on Wednesday but are likely to drop out of the playing XI.
In their past three league fixtures Chelsea have beaten Fulham, lost to Everton and drawn with Manchester United. While the results may not have been those that the Blues fans would have wanted, perhaps more worryingly has been the lack of precision and efficiency that the team has demonstrated in previous seasons, as Jose Mourinho attempts to stamp is own style of play on the team.
Mourinho will enter into a battle of wits with a former Chelsea manager on Saturday as Andre Villas-Boas welcomes his former employers to north London.
Having spent less than a year at Stamford Bridge before he was replaced by Roberto di Matteo, Villas-Boas has gone on to gain many plaudits during his time with Spurs and will be hoping to prove a point against Chelsea.
Tottenham have enjoyed a strong start to the season, having won four of their five matches thus far. However, their victories all came against sides not expected to challenge for top six places. With this in mind, a win against Chelsea would go a long way to proving that Spurs are genuine title contenders.
Both managers have injury concerns ahead of the clash. Spurs will be without striker Emmanuel Adebayor (illness), midfielder Etienne Capoue (ankle), while winger Aaron Lennon (foot) and defender Younes Kaboul (adductor) are both doubtful.
However, defender Danny Rose is expected to return after recovering from a toe injury.
Chelsea will be without Dutch midfielder Marco Van Ginkel, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season after damaging knee ligaments against Swindon in midweek.
Fellow midfielder Ramires is a doubtful starter as he struggles to overcome a hip injury.
Juan Mata, David Luiz, Fernando Torres and Willian all started against Swindon on Wednesday but are likely to drop out of the playing XI.
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