Tottenham are set to welcome the addition of summer signing Richarlison who missed the Soton clash due to suspension. Ivan Perisic could also be in line for his first Tottenham start against Chelsea after coming off the bench against Southampton.
Ivan Perisic could be in line to make his first Spurs start this Sunday against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.(📸:Getty Images)
In the last couple of weeks, the Italian has raised his concerns over both Matt Doherty’s and Ivan Perisic’s fitness.
“At the moment we need to have a bit of patience, they are working very well to be fit quickly.”
Niether started the game against the Saints, but both did feature in the second half to help build their match fitness.
The only other injury concern for Conte is Oliver Skipp, who will miss the first few games of the campaign due to injury.
Chelsea vs Tottenham: Tottenham face litmus derby test.
Tottenham hit the ground running quickly against Southampton, but will have to face a big litmus test against their London rivals Chelsea.
The reason why it is such a huge litmus test for Antonio Conte’s side is due to the club’s dismal record at Stamford Bridge, where Spurs have won just one of their last 37 matches in all competitions, having drawn 12 and lost 24.
Two of those defeats came under Conte last season as Spurs lost 2-0 in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final and were then beaten again three weeks later by the same scoreline in the Premier League.
“If you compare it to our team, there is no comparison,” Conte said after the first loss in January. “We’ve seen the difference between the two teams. I know the situation, it’s very clear, there is an important gap.”
But following their convincing 4-1 opening-weekend win over Southampton – and a busy summer of transfer activity married with a full pre-season – the Italian’s tune has dramatically changed.
The former Blues boss said after Saturday’s victory: “Next week we have Chelsea and, with Chelsea last season, I think I have seen a lot of difference in the level.
“We played three games in 12 days [against Chelsea last season], we lost three games, we didn’t score, and they showed in these three games that in the moment they were much better than us.
“This season we are starting with seven months of work and, for me, this is very important because I can go in another step to implement our football knowledge and try to be stronger.”
A London derby at such an early stage of the campaign, it’s going to be fascinating to see which of the two capital counterparts can make an early statement in the battle to become the city’s top dog.