After an impressive 2-1 over Everton at the weekend, the next task that Tottenham face is a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, who are unbeaten so far this season and top the table. Despite manager Mauricio Pochettino claiming that the absence of Diego Costa will have no impact on the game and the way that Spurs play, it is surely a huge boost for us. Here is the Tottenham team news and predicted lineup.
Team News:
Kyle Naughton is likely to return to the starting lineup after he served the last game of his suspension, Vlad Chiriches is a doubt after picking up a knock, Ben Davies could start at left-back again as Danny Rose is a doubt once again. Kyle Walker is still a doubt but did play 67 minutes for the U-21s on Monday. Etienne Capoue and Emmanuel Adebayor are both doubts.
Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris:
It is very fair to say that Lloris has kept us in many, many games this season and has put in some match winning performances between the sticks. He will be crucial to us at Stamford Bridge. I think he will be kept busy over the ninety minutes.
Defence: Kyle Naughton, Jan Vertonghen, Federico Fazio, Ben Davies:
It will be great to have a natural right-back in the team again, and with Kyle Walker close to a return, I do not think that we will have this same problem again. Ben Davies will probably step in again for Danny Rose, and I think that the two centre-backs are good for the job against Chelsea, with Fazio to deal with the height of Drogba and Vertonghen for the pace of the striker, either Remy or Drogba.
Midfield (Holding): Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb:
I thought these two did a fantastic job on Sunday and I doubted these two as a pairing at first, but I was proved wrong at the weekend to be fair. They did a great job and I feel that they both fully deserve a starting place at Stamford Bridge. Hopefully, they will press high and put in some good tackles.
Midfield (Attacking): Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen, Aaron Lennon:
Aaron Lennon had a good game on Sunday and should start again. Nacer Chadli in my opinion should make a return to the starting lineup and is in some good goalscoring form before his injury. Eriksen is in some good form and should also start. They will all help out with the pressing. They are effectively the first line of defence.
Striker: Harry Kane:
I know it seems very harsh on Roberto Soldado after his goal, but for the team, I feel that Harry Kane should start. His work-rate is absolutely fantastic, and he can win back the ball like we saw on Sunday. He can really help with the pressing, and when we don’t have the ball, he can drop into midfield, which is a real help.
