Tottenham v Chelsea: six key battles

Chelsea face rivals Tottenham at White Hart Lane this weekend. Here are six potential battles we think might be all-important in Sunday’s derby.

Diego Costa v Jan Vertonghen
There has been confrontation when these two have clashed in the past, so this battle could be very interesting indeed – particularly given Costa’s recent run-in with boss Jose Mourinho, who has made it clear he wants more from the striker.

Willian v Danny Rose
Willian has been a shining light for Chelsea during a troubled season for the champions so far. Rose was rested for Tottenham’s Europa League game this week and will need all the energy he can muster against the relentless Brazilian.

Eden Hazard v Eric Dier
If Hazard plays more centrally, as he did against Norwich, Dier might have a particularly important role for Spurs. Hazard has been short of his best this season but does tend to produce in big games.

Branislav Ivanovic v Son Heung-min or Érik Lamela
Spurs surely intend to target Ivanovic, who has been poor this season and again failed to impress against Norwich last time out.

Nemanja Matic v Christian Eriksen
Below-par displays from Matic have become a slightly more familiar occurrence this season, but given how outstanding he was last term his performance in the 5-3 defeat at Spurs on New Year’s Day was a real bolt out of the blue. He was given all sorts of problems that day and Eriksen was Chelsea’s chief tormenter. Will it be a different story this time?

Gary Cahill/Kurt Zouma v Harry Kane 
With skipper John Terry expected to be sidelined, Cahill and Zouma are expected to have the task of shackling Kane, who has netted a total of eight goals in his last five matches and scored two of Tottenham’s goals in last season’s 5-3 victory against the Blues.