Chelsea will fancy their chances of picking up a seventh straight victory in the Premier League when they host Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. However, they will have to do it without their captain John Terry, who has been ruled out of the London derby through injury.
Not that Terry will be a big miss, considering Chelsea have won those six games without needing their captain. In that winning run, the Blues are yet to concede a single goal, with that three-man defence of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill working like a dream.
Terry suffered an injury in training this week and will be joined on the treatment table by John Obi Mikel. With Terry missing, Kurt Zouma could be involved in the matchday squad having made his return from a long-term injury by playing in a reserves game earlier this week.
Willian could also be involved in the squad, but Antonio Conte has very little to worry about, be that in defence or going forward, with the likes of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro also firing on all cylinders.
Spurs, who became the only Premier League team this season to fail to make it to the last 16 of Champions League, after going down to Monaco on Tuesday, have a bit of a problem at left-back, with Danny Rose suspended and Ben Davies injured. Jan Vertonghen is expected to fill-in at left-back, which means a central defensive pairing of Kevin Wimmer and Eric Dier is likely.
This game comes too soon for Toby Alderweireld, who would have otherwise slotted in at centre-back, with Erik Lamela also still out injured.
Chelsea, the leaders, currently hold a four-point advantage over Spurs, who are the only remaining unbeaten team in the league, and while they cannot end Tottenham's title hopes like they did last season when the two teams met at Stamford Bridge, they certainly can land a major blow by beating Mauricio Pochettino's men on Saturday.
Expected starting XI: Chelsea: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Kante, Matic, Alonso; Pedro, Costa, Hazard.
Tottenham: Lloris; Walker, Dier, Wimmer, Vertonghen; Wanyama; Sissoko, Dembele, Alli, Son; Kane.
