THE OPPOSITION

Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea were one of the pre-season title favourites and they've shown nothing in the early weeks of the season to give those who backed them any real reason for concern.

The reigning European Champions have been misely in defence, conceding just three goals in their seven league outings to date. The numbers suggest they have been running a little hot defensively but a backline that has included Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, and César Azpilicueta will always pose a formidible test for opponents.

Going forward there have been concerns over the form and fitness of Romelu Lukaku (pictured above). The Belgian frontman scored four in his first four following his big-money summer move but then hasn't found the net in his last five. Despite that, Chelsea have been very efficient in front of goal so far this term. Behind Spurs they have the second-best ratio of shots to shots on target and have found the back of the net with every 2.5 shots on target.

THE GAMEPLAN

Writing for Hot Off The Press football.london's Adam Newson, said: "Personally, I think [Tuchel] will go with the tried and trusted 3-4-2-1 system. Edou Mendy, who has established himself as one of Europe's finest goalkeepers, will be between the posts and I think the back three will consist of Azpilicueta, Christensen and Rudiger. Reece James, fitness permitting, is likely to be used at right wing-back while Ben Chilwell should keep his place on the opposite flank as he slowly rediscovers his best form. As highlighted above, I think Kante will start and potentially alongside Loftus-Cheek. Mount was missed while out injured so I suspect he'll return on the right of the attack with Werner (pictured above) supporting Lukaku from the left.

TEAM NEWS

Mads Bech (knee), Josh Dasilva (hip), and Shandon Baptiste (shoulder) are all out but Thomas Frank should have both Kristoffer Ajer and Vitaly Janelt back after they missed our win at West Ham.

Chelsea have a number of issues to deal with. Thiago Silva is out, having played in Brazil's World Cup Qualifier against Uruguay less than 36 hours ago. Antonio Rudiger (back), Christian Pulisic (ankle), and Hakim Ziyech (headache) were all ruled out by Thomas Tuchel as well but Romelu Lukaku is set to feature despite withdrawing from the Belgium duty with muscle fatigue.

MATCH STATS

THE MANAGER

Thomas Tuchel was a professional player who came through the academy at FC Augsburg before going pro with Stuttgarter Kickers. His time at SSV Ulm, and his career, was cut short by a knee cartilage injury at the age of 25.

Determined to stay in football, his coaching career began in the youth teams at VfB Stuttgart. After five years there, and a spell at Augsburg, he was hired as Head Coach by Mainz 05. He stabilised their stay in the Bundesliga during his five years in charge, earning praise for his energetic and attacking football. He was appointed to Borussia Dortmund in 2015, where he won the DFB-Pokal before leaving in 2017.

He joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2018, where he won two league titles and took the club to their first UEFA Champions League Final. He was dismissed in 2020 and was hired by Chelsea in January. He won the Champions League Final with The Blues a few months later, defeating Man City 1-0.

THE OPPOSITION VIEW

Thomas Tuchel told chelseafc.com: “They will be ready to over-perform. This is what they do in every single game, and if you arrive for a London derby in a Premier League game, not a cup game or friendly, these clubs are ready to over-perform.