Both Tottenham and Chelsea appointed new managers in the summer, but have since had very different starts. Ange Postecoglou has Spurs unbeaten and top of the league after ten games, despite losing their star man in Harry Kane. In contrast, former Tottenham manager, Mauricio Pochettino, has endured a slower start to life at Chelsea, with just three wins from ten games seeing the Blues sit in 11th place.
Chelsea looked to have a turned a corner in the last few games, beating Fulham and Burnley away, before picking up a point against title challengers Arsenal. However, defeat at home to Brentford last weekend piled more pressure on Pochettino.
Spurs' turnaround has been remarkable, as they are playing exciting football which is also getting big results. The Lilywhites have won their last four games in a row, scoring seven goals and conceding two.
It will be interesting to see what sort of reception Pochettino receives on his first return to his previous club since his departure in 2019. The Argentine worked wonders at Tottenham over a number of years, reaching the Champions League final in 2019 and challenging for the title over a couple of seasons. However, a number of fans are furious that a man they once idolised has joined fierce London rivals, Chelsea, and they feel that the Argentine should not have joined the club.
Tactics
Spurs have been using a 4-2-3-1 formation throughout the season, with Yves Bissouma sitting behind Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison. Although this is not a rigid formation, with the fullbacks regularly inverting into midfield and often popping up in number eight positions, with Maddison dropping deeper at times.
Son Heung-Min has been used as the number nine, utilising his elite level of finishing and the forward has eight goals in 10 matches this season. Postecoglou's side will look to isolate Chelsea's full backs one v one with their wingers or midfielders before cutting the ball back across the box. This is how they scored the second goal away at Crystal Palace.
Chelsea will aim to dominate the middle of the pitch by overloading the midfield with four players through the centre of the pitch. Pochettino has been using a three of Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher, with Cole Palmer in the number ten position. This was very effective in the first half against Arsenal and could be key to getting a result against the league leaders. During Spurs' match against Liverpool, Cody Gakpo found joy drifting in behind Bissouma and Palmer could pick up the ball in these key areas. Chelsea are expected to line up in a 4-3-2-1 formation.
Where can the sides exploit each other?
Chelsea have looked more promising this season when the teams they are up against have more of the ball and they can sit in and counter attack with pace up front. Pochettino's side have struggled a lot more when the opposition have played a low block and countered Chelsea. This was evident in the matches against Arsenal and Brentford; the Blues had a lot more joy against Arsenal who had more of the ball but struggled against Brentford who conceded more possession.
Spurs have been playing on the front foot under Postecoglou and having the majority of possession in nearly every game. They have also been playing a very high defensive line, which the visitors could look to exploit with the pace of Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Jackson and Mykhailo Mudryk.
One area where Postecoglou's side have been very settled is in defence, with the same back four playing the majority of matches so far. Whereas Chelsea have had a lot of chopping and changing at the back due to injuries and issues with form. This has led to a lack of defensive cohesion for the visitors, who will need to be sharp against a Spurs side that have scored in every single league game this season.
Son will fancy himself against Chelsea's unsettled back line, with September's Premier League Player of the Month award winner on fire so far this campaign. The South Korean has already built an excellent partnership with summer signing Maddison and teams have found it hard to deal with the pair. The former Leicester City midfielder has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season and Pochettino's side will need to keep a close eye on him throughout the match.
Key match up
The midfield is a key area where the game will be won or lost and two former Brighton midfielders will both sit at the base of each teams midfield. Bissouma and Caicedo will both play important roles in their respective sides and whoever comes out on top will likely play a big part in deciding the result.
Bissouma has been fantastic so far this season in the holding midfield role, winning countless tackles and interceptions, whilst enabling Spurs to move the ball quickly from defence to attack. The Mali international has had eight out of nine exceptional games, only failing to impress against Luton Town where he was sent off for two bookable offences in the first half.
Following a tricky first season at the club, Bissouma has looked like a new player under Postecoglou and will be relishing the chance to showcase his talent against one of the most expensive midfielders in the world on Monday night.
Similar to Bissouma, Caicedo is suffering a difficult start to life in London. The Ecuadorian has not quite lived up to expectations since his £100 million move from Brighton in the summer window, with a few injury problems and inconsistent form.
However, the Ecuador international was one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League last season under Roberto De Zerbi and there is a reason both Liverpool and Chelsea fought so hard to secure his signature.
If Pochettino can bring the best out of his player against Spurs, then he can massively disrupt their rhythm that they have built up so far and reduce the amount of chances that the likes of Maddison and Bissouma can create.
On paper Chelsea have all the tools in their midfield to stop Spurs playing with Caicedo, Fernandez and Gallagher, but it is just whether they all click and work well together to stop high flying Spurs.
