Chelsea and Tottenham clash in an early season London derby at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
Both rivals are coming into a high-profile fixture off the back of opening weekend victories, with Chelsea squeezing past Frank Lampard’s Everton thanks to a Jorginho penalty and Spurs recovering from an early setback to brush aside Southampton 4-1 on home soil.
Now they meet in an eagerly-anticipated tussle that will determine where each club stands at this stage with plenty of huge tests to come in 2022-23.
Chelsea have won nine of their last 11 meetings with Tottenham, including five in a row and three on the bounce in the space of just 18 days in January. Can Antonio Conte finally get one over on his former club?
Here, Standard Sport’s chief football correspondent Dan Kilpatrick looks at three key issues that will likely decide Sunday’s game...
Wide areas will be key
Antonio Conte faces his biggest selection dilemmas at wing-back. Ryan Sessegnon scored against Southampton, but Ivan Perisic has big-game experience and might be a safer pick to face the rampaging Reece James.
On the other flank, Conte must choose between Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty, while Thomas Tuchel is likely to stick with Ben Chilwell. The individual battles could go a long way to determining the result.
Kulusevski v Koulibaly
Dejan Kulusevski is quickly turning Spurs’ attacking top two into a thrilling three. He was the standout player against Saints and is looking to reach double figures for assists in his 20th League game on Sunday.
Kalidou Koulibaly was excellent on debut against Everton on the left of a back-three, but faces an early test against Spurs and Kulusevski.
Dead-ball approach
Set pieces were one of Spurs’ biggest weaknesses last season and one of Chelsea’s strengths. Conte has taken steps to address the problem, with the appointment of a set-piece coach, but Spurs still conceded from a corner pre-season against Roma.
Tuchel was frustrated with his side’s attacking set pieces at Everton and will be looking for an improvement. In what is likely to be a cagey game, having the edge here could be vital.
