Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea. Premier League.
White Hart LaneAttendance35,639.
Sunday 29 November 2015 14:29, UK
Tottenham will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run to 13 league games when they face Premier League champions Chelsea at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
For Tottenham it will be their third consecutive London derby after drawing with Arsenal and beating West Ham United while Chelsea have won their last two games in all competitions after a horrendous start to the campaign.
Jose Mourinho's team sit 15th in the Premier League while Tottenham are 5th and on the longest unbeaten run of any team in the top flight as they prepare for the visit of the London rivals just three days after a 5,000 mile round trip to Azerbaijan.
Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino has called for help from the Premier League on the fixture calendar for teams in Europe but Spurs go into Sunday's game with Mourinho tipping them as contenders for the title.
Team news
England midfielder Alli serves a one-match ban after collecting his fifth booking of the season against West Ham last weekend.
Kyle Walker, Mousa Dembele and Danny Rose return after they were rested for Thursday's Europa League win over Qarabag, but Erik Lamela (groin), Nabil Bentaleb, Nacer Chadli and Alex Pritchard (all ankle) are set to to miss out again.
John Terry is a major doubt for Chelsea after suffering an ankle injury in the 4-0 win against Maccabi Tel Aviv but will be given as long as possible to prove his fitness
Cesc Fabregas (toe) is fit but striker Radamel Falcao (undisclosed) and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (knee) are still unavailable although nearing returns.
Opta stats
Spurs' 5-3 victory in this fixture on New Year's Day ended a run of nine league games without a win against their London rivals (D5 L4).
Eden Hazard has scored in his last three league appearances against Spurs.
Chelsea have won one of their last seven away league games (L5 D1) and just one of their last nine league trips to White Hart Lane (D4 L4).
Kane has scored seven goals in his last four league matches, while Spurs have fired in more shots on target this season than any other team in the top flight (88).
Spurs have lost two of their last 20 home league matches (W12 D6).
The Blues have scored three goals in their last four league matches.
Spurs are unbeaten in their last 12 league matches - they have never gone 13 unbeaten in the Premier League era and the last time they did in the league was in March 1985 (14 games in total).
Cesc Fabregas has provided 11 league assists against Tottenham Hotspur; five more than against any other Premier League opponent.
Merson's prediction
You have to feel for Tottenham a bit in this game, to have the season they've had so far and then when Chelsea come to town, they've just got back from Qarabag. It's a big ask after a six-hour journey.
Chelsea fell over the line against Norwich and had an easy game against Maccabi Tel Aviv. I'm going for a draw but I wouldn't at all be surprised if Chelsea went on and won this.
If Chelsea win this against a Spurs side who have only lost once this season in the league, people will sit up. You would start thinking they can get top four, especially with the way the Premier League has gone this season.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (5/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Tottenham are Sky Bet's marginal favourites for the victory at 6/4 to Chelsea's odds of 7/4, while the draw is priced at 12/5. The last six Premier League meetings have produced 27 goals, making five or more in the game a big price at 5/1, while the Blues are 6/4 to score two or more times for the fourth time in five meetings with Spurs.
Harry Kane heads the first goalscorer betting at 5/1 followed by Diego Costa at 11/2, with the strike duo 15/2 to both find the net. The Soccer Saturday pundits and Jamie Redknapp have provided Sky Bet with their tips, including Phil Thompson's 33/1 prediction for Kane to score first in a 2-1 Spurs win and Matt Le Tissier's 12/1 fancy for Christian Eriksen to score a free-kick.
