Spurs look to build on first league win with trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea

Spurs look to build on first league win with trip to Stamford Bridge

Tottenham finally ended their wait for a Premier League win this season on Monday, beating Coventry City 3-1. It was their first top-flight victory of the campaign and only their second home league win of 2026, following their 1-0 win over Everton on the final day of last season.

James Maddison scored a stunner on his first competitive start since May 2025, Omar Marmoush netted his maiden Spurs goal and Ben Davies came off the bench to grab the contest-settling goal in stoppage time. Dejan Kulusevski also made his long-awaited return to action, having been out injured since May of last year.

It was not the most convincing of 3-1 wins, but it got the job done. Tottenham scored more than two goals in a Premier League match for the first time in 36 games, and it was the first time they scored three or more goals at home in the league since matchday one of last season against Burnley (3-0).

Roberto De Zerbi's side now head across London to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, looking to build on that first win.

What's expected?

Chelsea have lost only one of their last 16 Premier League London derbies at Stamford Bridge (W11 D4), a 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Boxing Day 2024-25. However, they have lost each of their last two home and away league matches (1-2 vs Arsenal, 0-3 vs Brentford).

Spurs have lost each of their last six London derbies in the Premier League, and have never lost seven derby games in a row in their league history. Chelsea have won each of their last six Premier League matches against Spurs, their joint-longest winning run against their London rivals.

Spurs have won just one of their last 36 league visits to Stamford Bridge (D11 L24), a 3-1 victory in 2017-18 under Mauricio Pochettino. They have picked up only two points in eight visits since then (D2 L6).

Opta model favours Chelsea

Opta's supercomputer gives Chelsea a 53.6% chance of winning, with a 23.8% chance of a draw and a 22.6% chance of a Spurs win.

Chelsea's attack is Alonso's biggest weapon

Chelsea beat Everton 2-0 last weekend, keeping their first Premier League clean sheet since January. They are looking to win three consecutive league games for the first time since a run of four in January/February.

Chelsea have conceded 13 goals and have given up chances worth 10.6 expected goals against (xGA) this season. Their scoring, however, has been among the league's best: 17 goals, behind only Manchester City (19) and Brighton (23). They have outperformed their xG of 9.9 by 7.1, the second-highest overperformance in the division after Brighton (+8.1).

Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer form a formidable front three. Joao Pedro (+2.0) and Rogers (+1.9) are the fourth and fifth highest xG overperformers in the competition, while Pedro Neto, who scored twice at Everton, is sixth (+1.8). Rogers has been involved in six goals in six games against Spurs (four goals, two assists) while an Aston Villa player.

Maddison could be the key

Spurs have the third-lowest xG in the Premier League this term (7.5), ahead of only Coventry (7.1) and Hull City (6.8), so stopping Chelsea will be difficult. Yet Spurs have scored a higher share of their goals from outside the box (50%, 3 of 6) than any other side in the league this season. Against Coventry they became the first side since Fulham v Leicester City in May 2023 to score three goals from outside the box in a single Premier League game.

Since his Premier League debut in August 2018, Maddison has scored 21 goals from outside the box, at least two more than any other player. Chelsea must avoid giving him too much space outside the area.

Players to watch

Chelsea - Cole Palmer: Palmer has been involved in five goals in five Premier League appearances against Spurs (two goals, two assists). He has already laid on 15 chances in the league this season and is Chelsea's chief creator. A goal in this match would be his 50th in the competition.

Tottenham - Dejan Kulusevski: Kulusevski made his first Premier League matchday squad appearance for Spurs in 526 days on Monday, receiving a huge ovation late on. He is likely to start on the bench again, but could be a useful option for De Zerbi.