Tottenham Hotspur will have a firm opportunity on Saturday to hand Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea their first defeat of the season when the two London rivals square off at Wembley.
Chelsea are yet to lose a game in all competitions this season and have had a tremendous start under the new Sarri regime.
But, Saturday’s trip to North London would be a real test of character for the Chelsea team as they hope to keep their 100% record intact for a little longer.
Spurs seem to have found their rhythm again with four straight wins following a 1-0 loss to Manchester City at the end of last month. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been able to call on the likes of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen again since their return from injuries and their impact have highly rewarding in terms of results and squad morale.
Following the Blues’ poor performance against Everton last weekend, an international break might have come at just the right time for Sarri to get his troops together and regather their focus.
But his opposite number would certainly be relishing the opportunity to do what no other team has been able to do this season and that is to get one over the 2017 Premier League champions.
Spurs will take the confidence of their recent results into the game and try to capitalise on it by putting Chelsea to sword and given Alvaro Morata’s continued struggle in the Nations League to score goals, Pochettino would certainly prepare his men to not give the likes of Eden Hazard and Ross Barkley any opportunity to work their magic.
Having said that, the Argentinian manager would also try to execute a game-plan that would allow Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura to have a go at the Chelsea defenders and create chances for themselves or set up Harry Kane.
The striker scored the winning goal for England against Croatia on Sunday and would certainly be aiming to do similar against Chelsea. Spurs would also look back on last season’s 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge to give them the belief and ambition they require for a big encounter like this.
With the stadium move surely close now, Tottenham could enjoy one last famous Wembley night with a major win over Chelsea.