Two teams playing very different types of football at the moment meet in the early kickoff on Sunday with more than just three points on the line.
Chelsea travel across the capital to face London rivals Tottenham at White Hart Lane with the two sides at different ends of the table. An abysmal start to the campaign sees Chelsea in need of three points as they play catchup, while Tottenham are enjoying some of their best football for a while and are on the cusp of the top four spots.
Team News
Chelsea: The Blues are preparing to be without their captain on Sunday with John Terry picking up an ankle problem in midweek in Tel-Aviv while Ramires is also a doubt as he is nursing a muscular injury picked up on Monday.
Radamel Falcao remains sidelined with a muscular injury and could be set to leave Chelsea in January but the good news for Chelsea fans is Thibaut Courtois has resumed training and is expected back in mid-December.
Chelsea are coming into the game off their 1-0 win over Norwich last weekend, as well as a 4-0 win in midweek against Maccabi Tel-Aviv to give the Blues something to build on.
Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino's side have played arguably the best football in the top flight in recent weeks and are unbeaten in their last 12 league games, but they'll be without their young star in midfield, Dele Alli as he serves a one-game suspension.
Nabil Bentaleb remains out of action with an ankle injury but winger Erik Lamela is back in squad and available for selection after recovering from his groin problem. Nacer Chadli is still out with an ankle injury of his own but could return as soon as next week.
Tottenham won a London Derby just last week as they cruised to a 4-1 win over West Ham before travelling all the way to Azerbaijan on Thursday to beat Qarabag by a score of 1-0.
Projected XI: Lloris; Walker, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Rose; Dier, Dembele; Lamela, Eriksen, Son; Kane.
Background
Jose Mourinho has not won in his last three visits to White Hart Lane, drawing once and losing twice.
The last three meetings between Chelsea and Tottenham have seen 13 goals scored.
Chelsea won the most recent fixture, a 2-0 victory in the Capital One Cup final thanks to goals from John Terry and Diego Costa.
Tottenham were victorious in this fixture last season, thumping the would-be champions 5-3 on New Years Day.
Players to Watch:
Tottenham: Harry Kane - The 22-year-old tore Chelsea to pieces in this fixture last season, bagging a brace in the 5-3 win. With eight goals in 13 games this season and seven in his last four, Kane is in superb form and with Zouma and Cahill expected to start for the Blues, they will have their hands full with Tottenham's very own academy product.
Chelsea: Willian - There's no debate that Willian has been Chelsea's best player this season. The Brazilian has enjoyed his best start to a season since joining the London side and will need to continue his hard-working performances to help Jose Mourinho snatch points from their rivals. From being a whisker away from joining Spurs back in 2013, Willian has a chance to show them what they missed out on.