However, Tottenham have history against them as they haven’t won a league game at Stamford Bridge since 1990.
Both Chelsea and Tottenham consider each other their fiercest rivals and, with so much riding on this game, it will likely be a classic.
Chelsea injuries
Thibaut Courtois is a doubt for Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, he is joined by Andreas Christensen who has muscular fatigue.
David Luiz is out for three more weeks, while Ross Barkley is training with the under-23s as he aims to return to first team action after a spate of injuries.
Tiemoue Bakayoko started the game against Leicester City and he has returned, but Ethan Ampadu is out for the season after fracturing his ankle in the UEFA Youth League victory over Real Madrid.
Danny Drinkwater is another doubt, having not appeared since he started against Manchester City, at the beginning of March.
Chelsea suspensions
Chelsea currently have no players suspended. Spain striker Alvaro Morata is, however, two yellow cards away from a two-match ban after accumulating eight bookings.
Chelsea potential starting line-up
Alvaro Morata got his first goal of 2018 against Leicester City, after a two-and-a-half month goal drought, but he is likely to start against Tottenham on Sunday.
Willian and Eden Hazard are undroppable, while Willy Caballero will start, if Courtois remains out injured.
Gary Cahill has lost his place in the starting line up to Antonio Rudiger, as Chelsea have established their 3-4-3 formation as their primary one again in recent weeks.
Conte will go for his full strength line up in what is one of his side’s most important games of the season. If Courtois and Christensen are out, then Cahill and Caballero will likely step into their place.
Tottenham team news
Tottenham have a relatively clean bill of health, but they may be without their talismanic striker Harry Kane who suffered an ankle injury against Bournemouth.
Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that Kane is in with a chance of returning, but Son Heung-Min is more likely to continue to deputise in the England international’s absence.
Toby Alderweireld could return after spending a number of weeks out with a hamstring injury, he returned to play for Belgium, but may remain on the bench due to a stalemate in talks over a new contract.
Harry Winks may also miss out through an ankle injury.
TV channel & kick-off time
The match takes place at 16:00 GMT on Sunday and it will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports.
Best Opta match facts
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 27 home league matches against Spurs (W18 D9) since losing 2-1 in February 1990. Spurs’ 25 games at Stamford Bridge without winning in the Premier League is the most that one team has played on one ground without a single victory in the competition. Tottenham have won more points in Premier League London derbies this season than any other side (13 – W4 D1 L2). The Blues are looking to do their first league double over Tottenham since the 2005-06 season. Chelsea are looking to secure back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since December – they’re winless in their last four against fellow ‘big six’ sides (D2 L2), although all of those have been away from home.
title: “Chelsea Team News Injuries Suspensions And Line Up Vs Tottenham” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Shirley Jones”
Spurs head into the game in mixed form after being knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday night, but having emerged victorious in another London derby against West Ham United last time out in the league. Chelsea, contrastingly, have won their last six top-flight fixtures without conceding a goal.
CHELSEA INJURIES
Conte has confirmed that John Terry and John Obi Mikel will miss the game against Tottenham, both players have a muscular injury with Terry facing “two to three weeks” out.
Willian is likely to return to the bench for Chelsea after missing the game against Middlesbrough. The Brazilian winger has fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge after losing his place to Pedro and has only sporadically made the bench since he was forced to miss Chelsea’s win over Leicester City in October due to a family bereavement.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has also been struggling for match time at Chelsea and England Under-21 level as he suffers with a back complaint, but could make his return to the bench against Tottenham.
WATCH: Luiz scores AMAZING goal
Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas were all selected for thematch day squad, despite being injury doubts last week, while Kurt Zouma completed another 90 minutes for the Chelsea Under-23s on Monday.
Tottenham have a number of selection issues, with Toby Alderweireld failing to recover in time from a knee injury and reported Chelsea target Ben Davies doubtful with an ankle injury. Erik Lamela faces a race against time to prove his fitness as he nurses a hip problem.
Conte gave an injury update at the Cobham Training Centre ahead of the derby match on Satuday and said: “For tomorrow, I don’t have available John Terry and Obi Mikel. John has a muscular problem in his glutis. Obi is recovering from a muscular problem. In the next week, he’ll train with us. John’s injury happened in training. Maybe two, three weeks. Maybe. I don’t know. I think this.”
CHELSEA SUSPENSIONS
Costa remains one booking away from a suspension after receiving four yellow cards so far this season. Chelsea could be without the Premier League’s top goalscorer for their clash with Manchester City if Costa picks up another booking against Spurs.
Chelsea have no other players walking a disciplinary tightrope, but Tottenham will be without Danny Rose while Jan Vertonghen is one booking away from a suspension.
CHELSEA POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
Conte has picked an unchanged line up in his last five games, which is a Premier League first for Chelsea. He will do so again if he suffers no fresh injuries in training ahead of the derby.
Conte: PL tougher than ever
On recent form, it is difficult for Conte to rotate his players and give minutes to experienced first team stars such as John Terry, Cesc Fabregas and Kurt Zouma.
Chelsea will once again use the 3-4-3 formation which resolved their defence issues after they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The tactical switch has tightened the Blues up at the back, while they have scored 17 goals in their last six games.
TOTTENHAM DOSSIER
Tottenham are just four points adrift of table-topping Chelsea and are undefeated in the Premier League going into the game. They have played well against the biggest teams in the Premier League, having beaten Manchester City while drawing against Arsenal and Liverpool.
Harry Kane’s recent return from injury against West Ham is a huge boost to Mauricio Pochettino with his back up option, Vincent Janssen, failing to live up to his hype so far this season.
Alonso fires warning to Spurs
Like Chelsea, Tottenham are aiming to finish in the Champions League places, with anything else considered to be a bonus. Chelsea will be up against a team who press with a similar energy to what they have shown since switching to 3-4-3, and there may be scores to settle after last season’s feisty 2-2 draw, that was ultimately dubbed “The Battle of Stamford Bridge.”
Spurs and Chelsea have the most miserly defences in the league and will be hard to get through, but the Blues will face a stern test of their improvement at the back against the likes of Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min and Christian Eriksen.
