Early thoughts on Tottenham v Chelsea?

As time slowly passes by with the international fixtures in the way, focus will eventually turn to what is the biggest game of the season so far for Chelsea as we take the trip to White Hart Lane this Saturday lunchtime to take on Tottenham.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 29: Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas Boas celebrates victory in the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on September 29, 2012 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

As if this game isn’t spicy enough, there is the addition of a certain Andre Villas-Boas into the equation which for the Chelsea fans will certainly add fuel to the fire.

This is an intriguing game if we focus on the football and you cannot deny the improvement Spurs have shown under AVB in recent weeks. I think for all of us the performance and result at Old Trafford made a fair few people sit up and take notice.

I am still not 100% certain that their defence is water-tight at the moment and I will have to have a look at them in depth to post on here before the weekend.

It’s through the midfield and attack where they have make major strides forward in my view. Sandro is the holding midfielder in Scotty Parker’s absence and does a job and alongside him is Moussa Dembele, an old Chelsea target from a few years ago. I have to say looking from the outside in, Dembele is suspect with the defensive side of his game and the focus on that part of their play falls mainly with Sandro.

Their attacking three behind Defoe is impressive. Bale, Dempsey and Lennon will cause anyone problems given time and space. Chelsea have to shut down the space on Saturday in front of Bale and Lennon and force them the other way.

If anything, Chelsea can look at attacking Spurs down their right hand side as Lennon doesn’t prefer going backwards.

As for Jermaine Defoe, he is back playing regularly and scoring goals again and will be a constant threat to us at the weekend. If Chelsea can stop the service to Defoe, we are well positioned and have half the job done!

As for Chelsea, it looks as though JT will be suspended so expect Gary Cahill to come in alongside David Luiz with Ivanovic and Cole either side. I fully expect as at The Emirates when we beat The Arsenal, Ramires to start next to Mikel.

In my eyes Chelsea have the edge in defensive areas of midfield as Mikel is far better there than Sandro. It’s who can come out on top between Ramires and Demebele that could have a major say in this one.

Chelsea’s attacking three should be as per normal in recent weeks. Eden Hazard, Oscar and Juan Mata in behind the goal scoring Fernando Torres once again!

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 06: Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea (3L) celebrates with Mikel John Obi (2R) as he scores their fourth goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Norwich City at Stamford Bridge on October 6, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

That’s the difference with Chelsea compared to most teams in the Premier League this season, we have plenty of creative options in the side now. Most sides rely on one person to create and craft whereas we have THREE.

At the moment Juan Mata is running the show for Chelsea and Spurs will be looking to stop him. The problem is with their freedom of movement in the final third, each of them are hard to pick up and mark. If Mata is man marked, then Oscar or Eden Hazard have the chance to step up.

Make no mistake Spurs fans, Chelsea are a very, very different animal these days and are hard to stop.

However, this is a London Derby and form goes out the window. It will be interesting to see how Spurs line up against our attacking three as AVB looks to put one over us.

This should be a great, open and free flowing game and one I am looking forward to. I just hope Chelsea can get the three points and extend their advantage at the top of the league with Manchester United at the Bridge coming up next!

What do you people expect from the game this weekend? Will it be a tight tense affair or an open and free scoring game?