Chelsea vs Tottenham is set for the weekend as the blues look forward to bounce back from a 2-3 defeat to Burnley on the opening day of their Premier League title defence.
The second week of the season sees Chelsea as the first visitors to arrive to Spurs’ new and temporary home of Wembley Stadium. Spurs have moved to Wembley as they finish off the building of their new stadium after leaving White Hart Lane at the end of last year.
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They go into the game having beaten Newcastle United at St James’ Park on the opening day of the season and Chelsea are working this week to improve their selection problems ahead of the game.
CHELSEA INJURIES
Conte is faced with a host of selection problems after Chelsea sustained two red cards versus Burnley. They also had Eden Hazard, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Pedro and Victor Moses out of the defeat at Stamford Bridge last week but they will hope the problems ease ahead of a London derby.
Pedro is most likely to return but he is no guarantee as he works on getting over an ankle injury sustained against Arsenal in the Community Shield.
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Hazard and Bakayoko have begun training with the first team at Cobham this week but are unlikely to come straight in and start against their rivals.
Diego Costa has been ordered back to Cobham to train as he remains away from the first team group in Brazil. He has no chance of playing against Spurs and he is still expected to be sold, with Atletico Madrid his most likely destination.
CHELSEA SUSPENSIONS
Victor Moses is back after missing Burnley at the weekend due to a red card he picked up against Arsenal in the FA Cup final last season.
However, Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas are out of the weekend’s action as Chelsea went down to nine men versus Burnley. Cahill misses three games, while Fabregas misses one.
POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
Chelsea have continued into the new season with the 3-4-3 formation that brought them title glory last season. Conte is likely to keep using this winning shape and the return of Moses will bring back some much needed balance to the side.
Jeremie Boga started on the wing as options were limited on the opening day of the season but, if Pedro is fit, he will likely come back in for the Ivory Coast international.
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Alvaro Morata may have done enough to convince Conte to give him his first start after getting a goal and an assist on his debut. Michy Batshuayi struggled last weekend and Conte may opt to switch his front men around.
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Chelsea face selection problems in centre midfield with N’Golo Kante as the only fit and available senior player who performs in that role. Assuming Chelsea don’t complete a deal for a midfielder ahead of the match, it is likely that David Luiz or Andreas Christensen will start in the middle.
Kyle Scott is another option to play in central midfield but he will likely be on the bench, which will once again be very youthful, as Chelsea aim to add new players in the transfer market before 31 August. Bakayoko and Hazard are not expected to be rushed back into the starting line up.
BURNLEY TEAM NEWS
Mauricio Pochettino has no fresh injury worries as they look to make Wembley a fortress this season. Kieran Trippier is still out with “minor ligament damage” but he is expected to be back after the international break.
Victor Wanyama and Heung-min Son could be brought back into the starting line up after being on the bench against Newcastle. Kyle Walker-Peters made his debut last weekend as he came in to replace Kyle Walker.
The defender of a similar name moved to Manchester City for £50million earlier in the transfer window.
BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS
- This will be the first-ever Premier League match played at Wembley Stadium and it will be the 58th different stadium to host a game in the competition.
- Tottenham Hotspur went an entire campaign unbeaten at home in the league last season – the first time they’ve done this since 1964-65.
- Chelsea have lost just two of their last 17 games in all competitions against Tottenham (W8 D7 L2).
- Since beating Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final, Spurs have won just one of their last nine games at Wembley Stadium (W1 D2 L6). That win came in a registered ‘home match’ in the Champions League group stages against CSKA Moscow last season (3-1).
- Harry Kane’s next goal for Tottenham will be his 100th in all competitions for the club – though he’s failed to score in any of his 11 Premier League appearances in the month of August.
- Since Álvaro Morata’s first season as a top-flight player (2010-11), the Spanish striker has scored more goals as a substitute in the big five European leagues than any other player (22).
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TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME
The match is at 16:00 BST and will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports’ Premier League and Main Events channels.