Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge this weekend for the first time this season and face no small task to get their home form off to a good start. Former Blues boss Antonio Conte brings his Tottenham side to west London, revitalised from some early summer transfer business and with lofty aspirations.
Thomas Tuchel's men defeated their rivals three times in January and have won five of their last six matches at home against the Lilywhites. However, there's a sense under Conte that Spurs may be a different prospect, and they showed they mean business with their opening day win over Southampton.
Chelsea will have to ensure they are sharper than in their win over Everton, but Tuchel doesn't necessarily believe Tottenham have closed the gap to the Blues. The German coach isn't convinced there was a significant one anyway.
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"What he [Conte] felt last season, I believe he meant it at this moment, but I don't believe it was the truth that there was a huge gulf between us or a huge gap," said Tuchel.
"In these games, consecutive games, we were the stronger team, and we had the strength, the belief, the luck also, but also the discipline and momentum to beat them. This hurts, it hurts any manager, then it sometimes feels like the gap is bigger than it maybe actually is.
"I'm very sure he also said it to have the road clear. Why should he put pressure on his team? That was his reality. I mean it in a very friendly way that I don't believe everything he says. If he tells you today which players will start, we will not believe. If he tells you some tactical things or tells you that we are the huge favourites, we will not believe."
While Tuchel does not have much confidence in Conte's words, the German coach did reveal that Marcos Alonso and Mateo Kovacic would be absent for the clash. The former hopes to complete his move to Barcelona, while the latter suffers from a knee issue.
With that, football. london's Chelsea writers name the teams they would name to attempt to take down Spurs.
Adam Newson
With Marcos Alonso out of contention as he awaits a move to Barcelona and Mateo Kovacic ruled out due to injury, I don't expect Thomas Tuchel to make many changes to the Chelsea side against Tottenham.
That means Edouard Mendy – fresh off his nomination for the Yashin trophy - begins between the posts for the Blues once again, and the back three will consist of Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly, although that is admittedly something of a risk given the potential counter-attacking ability of Tottenham.
Reece James will begin at right-wing-back, and on the opposite flank, I'd hand a full debut to Marc Cucurella. The Spaniard looked sharp off the bench against Everton last weekend, and it enables Ben Chilwell's comeback to be managed gradually.
With no Kovacic, expect N'Golo Kante and Jorginho to be deployed. The energy of industry of Conor Gallagher is appealing, but I suspect he'll be introduced in the second half.
Kai Havertz is under pressure to step up this season, and despite a poor outing at Goodison Park, I think the German will be given another opportunity. Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount are guaranteed to start in the Chelsea front three.
Adam’s XI: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Kante, Jorginho, Cucurella; Mount, Havertz, Sterling
Scott Trotter
There's been little time for Chelsea to warm into the Premier League season before facing a difficult task in the form of Spurs. While Tuchel will hope his side can implement their game upon their rivals, it's impossible to ignore the quality Spurs have in Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski.
With that in mind, and the Blues wing-backs perhaps not bring the intensity they are known for last week, perhaps Marc Cucurella could be in line for a full debut with Ben Chilwell utilised later in the match to expose the spaces that begin to open up. If Tuchel was to stick with the same line-up as at Goodison Park, Cesar Azpilicueta could face the difficult task of shutting down Son and, with that prospect in mind, perhaps return James to a central role could be an option.
That would see Ruben Loftus-Cheek start at wing-back, where he has played pretty well in recent times and could match-up well in a physical battle with whoever Antonio Conte chooses on the left flank. If not, Trevoh Chalobah seems likely to take that role to Thiago Silva's right.
The injury to Mateo Kovacic would seem to secure the roles of N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, but Conor Gallagher should have a much bigger role off the bench as Chelsea tries to control the Spurs engine room throughout the game. More time should be provided to Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount as they build their relationship, but the pressure will be on with plenty of options for Tuchel to call upon.
Scott's XI: Mendy; James, Silva, Koulibaly; Loftus-Cheek, Kante, Jorginho, Cucurella; Mount, Sterling, Havertz.
Daniel Childs
My big concern ahead of this game is intensity and how Chelsea can match a Spurs team who had in abundance against Southampton last weekend and were clearly worked to the bone by Conte to start the season in peak physical condition. With that in mind, the injury to Mateo Kovacic is a blow, so now likely Tuchel will stick with Jorginho.
Marc Cucurella likely makes his first Chelsea start after a nice cameo last week. I would bring Trevoh Chalobah into the back-three to match the speed of Son, keeping Reece James at wing-back. Maybe more surprisingly, I would start Armando Broja in attack after Kai Havertz's anonymous outing at Goodison Park".
Daniel's XI: Mendy, Chalobah, Silva, Koulibaly, James, Kante, Jorginho, Cucurella, Mount, Broja, Sterling
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