Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will go head-to-head in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon in a huge game in north London following their differing starts to the season.
Spurs fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth last time out which has left Ange Postecoglou under pressure, while Enzo Maresca’s side claimed a dominant 5-1 win over Southampton to enter themselves into the title race according to many pundits.
With heavy schedules and injury problems on both sides though there are decisions for the managers to make, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expect both sides to line up.
Tottenham Team News
Defensive issues continue
Spurs have been dealt a bad hand with injuries this season, and the defence has been one area that has seen Postecoglou struggle for options. Ben Davies limped off against Bournemouth and joins Micky Van de Ven on the sidelines for this clash, while Cristian Romero is due for a late check to see if he is able to play.
Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Mikey Moore and Wilson Odobert remain unavailable through injury, while Rodrigo Bentancur is still suspended.
|
Tottenham Injuries and Suspensions |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Injury |
Potential Return Date |
|
Cristian Romero |
Foot |
08/12/2024 |
|
Ben Davies |
Hamstring |
Unknown |
|
Mikey Moore |
Illness |
Unknown |
|
Wilson Odobert |
Hamstring |
Unknown |
|
Micky Van de Ven |
Hamstring |
19/12/2024 |
|
Richarlison |
Hamstring |
01/01/2025 |
|
Guglielmo Vicario |
Ankle |
08/03/2025 |
|
Rodrigo Bentancur |
Suspended |
26/12/2024 |
Postecoglou Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the Spurs boss shared an update on his squad.
“Cuti’s [Romero] due to train, we’re not doing much today but we’ll see how he goes tomorrow. [For Davies] It’s too early (to say), 10 hours after it happened, he’ll have a scan today and we’ll find out more.
“Look, I come out here and I want to be as transparent as I can, but this is a 17-year-old boy [Mikey Moore]. I don’t like talking about what they have and what they don’t have. It’s nothing serious, but you know, he’s 17. We’re going to take our time, and I don’t like this kind of constant, not from you by the way, but I’ve just heard other bits and pieces of people speculating, Come on. I mean, like, if it’s your 17-year-old son, you don’t want everyone to know what he has or hasn’t got. It’s nothing serious. It’s nothing long-term. It’s just that he’s a young lad and he’s only 17, and he’s a big part of this football club, and we will protect him, and we’ll be guided by how he feels, how he recovers from, you know, an illness. Like I said, young people will recover at different rates. He’ll be back. He’s still here. he’s He’s part of what we’re doing, and he’ll be back in the next few weeks, but again he’s missed a lot of football. So whether we bring him back the first team or he needs to play, we’ve got to bear in mind that he’s 17.”
Tottenham Predicted XI
Maddison gets the nod in midfield
- Tottenham Predicted XI: Forster; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Udogie; Bissouma, Maddison, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
- Tottenham Predicted Substitutes: Austin (GK), Reguilon (DEF), Spence (DEF), Romero (DEF), Olusesi (MID), Bergvall (MID), Sarr (MID), Werner (FWD), Lankshear (FWD).
With so many injuries in the squad, teenage sensation Archie Gray could be set to start in the centre of defence. In midfield Postecoglou may see attack as the best form of defence, meaning James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski to start ahead of Yves Bissouma, while Heung-Min Son should return in attack alongside Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke.
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Chelsea Team News
James and Fofana ruled out
Maresca has been able to rotate his squad throughout the season with minimal problems such is the depth he has available to him, but key defenders Reece James and Wesley Fofana are both ruled out with injuries for this game.
Mykhailo Mudryk missed the win over Southampton through illness and is unlikely to recover in time for this game, but should return in midweek for the Europa Conference League clash.
|
Chelsea Injuries and Suspensions |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Injury |
Potential Return Date |
|
Reece James |
Hamstring |
11/01/2025 |
|
Wesley Fofana |
Hamstring |
11/01/2025 |
|
Mykhailo Mudryk |
Illness |
12/12/2024 |
Maresca Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Maresca shared an update on his squad.
“They are both [James and Fofana] slowly getting better but as we said recently, it is going to be weeks for them. They are still far [from a return to action]. Otherwise, the only one who is still ill is Misha Mudryk. The rest of the squad is okay.”
Chelsea Predicted XI
Jackson to return
- Chelsea Predicted XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Enzo, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
- Chelsea Predicted Substitutes: Jorgensen (GK), Disasi (DEF), Tosin (DEF), Lavia (MID), Dewsbury-Hall (MID), Veiga (MID), Neto (FWD), Felix (FWD), Nkunku (FWD)
After making lots of changes in midweek Maresca has already confirmed Robert Sanchez will return in goal, and others will likely come back into the side. Levi Colwill should start in defence once more, while Jadon Sancho and Nicolas Jackson should back into attack. £54m man Pedro Neto and £52m man Christopher Nkunku must once again settle for a place on the bench.
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