Fierce London rivals lock horns in an early season capital derby at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. It may only be the second weekend of the new Premier League season, but expectations are already high for these two clubs and neither Thomas Tuchel nor Antonio Conte will want to taste such a bitter defeat already in 2022-23.
Chelsea opened the campaign with a narrow win at Everton after a summer of massive upheaval. Marc Cucurella, Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly all make their Stamford Bridge debuts. Tottenham’s new signings are being made to wait in reserve, with Richarlison and Yves Bissouma among those on the bench as Antonio Conte names the same side that beat Southampton.
Chelsea have won each of their last five meetings with Spurs, including three triumphs in the space of just 18 days back in January. Can Conte dish out some revenge against his former club today? Follow Chelsea vs Tottenham with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below, featuring expert analysis from Nizaar Kinsella and Dan Kilpatrick at Stamford Bridge!
Live updates
Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge
It’s exceptionally hot at Stamford Bridge today reaching highs of 33 degrees ahead of Chelsea’s London derby match with Tottenham.
Players will be allowed to take on water and the five substitutes will come in handy in the first home match of the Boehly-Clearlake regime.
It could impact which players are used and how the teams press with Thomas Tuchel adjusting his training schedule to the evenings when the temperature was slightly cooler.
Conte names unchanged side
Four new signings on the bench for Tottenham, none in the starting XI.
Emerson keeps his place at right wing-back, with Doherty on the bench. Sessegnon preferred to Perisic, while Richarlison is among those waiting in reserve.
Loftus-Cheek in for Blues
So Ruben Loftus-Cheek starts for Chelsea – looks like he’ll be at right wing-back for the hosts, with Reece James on the right of a back three.
Other than that it’s largely as you’d expect, with Marc Cucurella getting the nod over Ben Chilwell.
Tottenham team news
Starting XI: Lloris, Romero, Dier, Davies, Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon, Kulusevski, Son, Kane
Subs: Forster, Tanganga, Sanchez, Doherty, Perisic, Bissouma, Bryan, Lucas, Richarlison
Chelsea team news
Chelsea XI: Mendy, James, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly, Loftus-Cheek, Kante, Jorginho, Cucurella, Mount, Havertz, Sterling
Subs: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Chilwell, Chalobah, Gallagher, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Pulisic, Broja
Team news to come
Team news coming up in just over ten minutes.
Big calls for both Tuchel and Conte to make… all will be revealed very soon!
Wide areas will be key
Antonio Conte faces his biggest selection dilemmas at wing-back. Ryan Sessegnon scored against Southampton, but Ivan Perisic has big-game experience and might be a safer pick to face the rampaging Reece James.
On the other flank, Conte must choose between Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty, while Thomas Tuchel is likely to stick with Ben Chilwell. The individual battles could go a long way to determining the result.
Read Dan Kilpatrick’s full tactics previews
Boehly: We want to win
Chelsea’s co-owner Todd Boehly has given a rare statement about his plans for the club alongside the various partners who bought the Blues in late May.
Ahead of their first home game of the season against Tottenham, Boehly penned his first match day programme notes which will become a regular occurrence during his time in west London.
“We are excited and honoured to be here with you – your dedication, passion and loyalty have kept the blue flag flying high,” Boehly wrote.
“There’s a simple mantra that guides us every day: we want to win, together and make you proud.
“As one of the world’s elite football clubs, Chelsea sits at the pinnacle of the game. We want to build on this remarkable history of success by acquiring quality talent across our senior, youth and women’s teams.”
Read his full comments here!
