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Ahead of this weekend’s meeting at Stamford Bridge, we have picked a combined XI from Tottenham and Chelsea based on current form, availability and what their players have shown so far this season.
Tottenham Hotspur finally ended their six-game winless run in the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Coventry City, but Roberto De Zerbi faces a much tougher test this weekend as Spurs travel to Stamford Bridge.
Tottenham have not won away against Chelsea in more than eight years, although a much-improved squad could give them reason to believe this time around. After all, De Zerbi’s side did beat Chelsea 2-1 in a pre-season friendly in Sydney, despite playing much of the game with 10 men.
Chelsea are a different proposition now, though. They have made a strong start to the campaign, collecting 13 points from their opening seven league games and scoring 17 goals. Xabi Alonso’s side have plenty of attacking quality, while several of Tottenham’s summer signings are finally beginning to find their feet.
There are some difficult choices to make, but after weighing up current form, availability and performances so far, here is our combined Tottenham and Chelsea XI. And yes, you read that headline correctly.
Chelsea’s summer signing Emiliano Martinez would have been the obvious choice after his impressive start, but an injury sustained against Everton has ruled him out of this fixture.
That leaves Mike Penders, whose only appearance this season came off the bench to replace Martinez during the final 15 minutes of that game. There simply is not enough evidence to make a convincing case for him over Kinsky.
The Tottenham goalkeeper has hardly enjoyed a brilliant start to life as the club’s first-choice stopper, but he gets the nod by default.
Pedro Porro has missed Tottenham’s last two games because of a hamstring injury, but De Zerbi offered some encouraging news over the weekend, saying: “Pedro, I think he’s coming. Maybe in Chelsea he can play.”
The Spaniard has made three appearances for Spurs this season and looked decent before his injury. His return would definitely be a welcome boost ahead of a difficult away fixture.
Chelsea have 20-year-old academy graduate Josh Acheampong covering at right-back this season, and he has impressed in his opportunities, but hasn’t been as reliable as Porro at both ends of the pitch. If fit enough to feature, the Spanish World Cup winner gets our vote.
Both clubs have brought in new faces for this position, with Chelsea signing Maxence Lacroix and Tottenham Jan Paul Van Hecke. Lacroix has shown promise, but has also been part of a defence that has conceded 11 goals this season, while Spurs have let in 10 with Van Hecke involved.
The Dutchman has the stronger individual defensive numbers, recording twice as many recoveries as Lacroix alongside more tackles, blocks and clean sheets. He has also been very important to Tottenham’s build-up play from the back.
Wesley Fofana is another option, but having fallen out of favour under Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso in the club’s last two games, he does not make any case to compete.
That completes a clean sweep of Tottenham’s defence, and Micky Van de Ven is arguably the easiest selection of the lot.
The Spurs captain has been a dependable presence at the back, repeatedly bailing his side out with perfectly timed, last-ditch sliding tackles. He rarely seems to put a foot wrong, and his recovery pace is a huge asset when Tottenham’s defensive line is exposed – as it has been plenty of times this season.
Chelsea’s Levi Colwill has also been impressive, but he has not quite reached Van de Ven’s level this season.
Moises Caicedo is one of the more underrated midfielders in Europe at the moment, and Chelsea’s improvement since his return from injury this month shows just how important he is to the side.
The Blues conceded 12 goals across their opening five games without the Ecuadorian featuring, but have conceded only one in their last two matches in which he started.
As for Tottenham: Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended, Lucas Bergvall is injured, and Mateus Fernandes has started only two league games this season. Caicedo gets in comfortably.
For all the doubts surrounding Sandro Tonali during the opening weeks of the season, Tottenham’s £100m investment is beginning to look increasingly worthwhile.
The Italian is coming off two consecutive performances worthy of a man-of-the-match award against Man United and Coventry. Tonali‘s ability to contribute at both ends of the pitch have made him one of Spurs’ most important players, and it would be difficult to justify leaving him out in his current form.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have enjoyed their own surprise package in Jordan Henderson. His free transfer in the summer has proved an astute piece of business, and he’s coming off two excellent performances of his own – a brace and an assist against Bournemouth before another solid display against Everton. That is, unfortunately, still not enough for him to be preferred over Tonali.
Cole Palmer looks to be returning to the levels he reached during his outstanding 23/24 campaign after two relatively subdued seasons by his standards. The England international has already registered four goals and three assists in 9 appearances this season.
Tottenham do have a contender in James Maddison, who marked his first start for the club in 536 days with a spectacular long-range goal against Coventry and a man-of-the-match award. Hopefully, he can make this a much closer contest when the two sides meet again, but for now, Palmer gets the nod.
This is not quite a conventional left-wing selection, as the players considered here tend to operate as inside forwards or attacking midfielders drifting into the spaces around the striker.
Chelsea’s £117m signing Morgan Rogers has wasted little time settling into his new surroundings, registering four goals and four assists in all competitions this season, making him the obvious pick.
Omar Marmoush did open his Tottenham account against Coventry, scoring Spurs’ winning goal in the second half, but he still has a lot of catching up to do before he can challenge Rogers for a place in this XI.
The Portuguese international has registered two goals and an assist across his last two appearances for Chelsea, giving him the stronger recent end product compared to Mohammed Kudus.
There is certainly a case for the Tottenham winger, who has supplied two assists and remains one of the Premier League’s most dangerous dribblers – ranking second for dribbles per 90 – but Neto’s recent contributions in front of goal tip the balance in his favour.
And there it is: a Tottenham defence, a Chelsea attack and a rather telling reflection of where these two sides currently stand.
Chelsea have one of the most productive attacks in Europe, ranking eighth among clubs in Europe’s top five leagues for goals scored. Much of that output has come from their forward line.
Joao Pedro has already scored five goals in six Premier League appearances this season, which happens to be five times more than what Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke has managed this season (1). Little competition here.
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