Opportunity for Chelsea to show its title credentials at Spurs

Thomas Tuchel’s first full season at Chelsea has started positively, especially in the Premier League. No team had scored more points than Tuchel’s Blues ahead of the gameweek five. After having already faced two of the traditional top six sides in Arsenal and Liverpool, it’s a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur up next for Chelsea. Sunday’s match will be the Blues’ third London derby already this campaign. Early season fixtures have not been easy for them, but they’ve managed to cope well with the difficult run of games. That in and of itself makes their current position in the table more than impressive. The squad’s chemistry nonetheless has a considerable room for improvement after the late arrival of various players.

A good start is always vital if a team is looking for a title challenge. With four clear favorites this time around in Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool, any slip up can be costly. After the summer signings and preseason under Tuchel, fans too will be expecting Chelsea to be there in the running for title toward the end of the season. Since the Blues’ last title-winning campaign, the Stamford Bridge side has consistently finished a long way off the title winners.

Meanwhile, Spurs have had a decent start to the season, as well. Nuno Espirito Santos’s team started the Premier League campaign spectacularly by defeating the reigning champion Manchester City—all without Harry Kane. At the end of game week three, they were leading the table after winning all three matches. All those contests were decided on just one solitary goal though. The match against Crystal Palace was a reality check for them as the Eagles won comfortably.

Despite their recent troubles, the recent history between the two London sides suggests Spurs will put up a fight against the Blues. The spotlight will be on the star forwards of either team. Romelu Lukaku and Kane are two of the best strikers in the game at the moment, there’s no doubt about it. Lukaku was able to make the move he wanted, and he is already scoring goals for fun. In contrast, Kane was not allowed to leave and now has to spend at least one more year in N17.

The focus could also be on another forward at Chelsea in Timo Werner. After the arrival of Lukaku, the German’s game time has been significantly limited. Even when the Blues were leading 2-0 against Aston Villa, he was introduced late and hardly saw the pitch. There were talks about Werner and Lukaku playing together, but we have yet to see this. Werner excelled at RB Leipzig while playing off a target man and in Lukaku, Tuchel has someone who can do that job perfectly.

Chelsea also enjoyed a winning start to its UEFA Champions League campaign, while Spurs could only manage a draw in the UEFA Conference League, the new third tier of European football. They also had setbacks with few players being taken off due to injury. The matches against Aston Villa and Zenit will give Tuchel and his side a lot of confidence. They were not at their best in both matches, but despite that, they were efficient to come away with all three points while keeping clean sheets. A victory on Sunday will ensure Chelsea will continue to be at the top of the pile, even if it’s a crowded bunch at this moment in time. At this early point of the season, everyone in SW6 would be more than pleased with that outcome at the weekend.

How do you think the Blues will fare? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!