Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea in a London derby on Saturday evening at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Dane has guided his side to third in the Premier League table off the back of their set-piece proficiency, though Spurs have flattered to deceive in Europe and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle United on Wednesday.

Enzo Maresca’s Blues advanced into the quarterfinals after holding off a Wolverhampton Wanderers fightback at Molineux. Chelsea have been plagued by ill discipline at the start of 2025–26 and their home defeat to Sunderland last week, which could not be blamed on a red card, leaves them ninth in the table heading into Saturday’s game.

Team news favours Tottenham on personnel. Frank has confirmed a triple injury boost ahead of Chelsea’s visit, with Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert all set to return to his matchday squad. Captain Romero has missed the previous four outings with a groin issue and is expected back in the Spurs defence. Given Chelsea’s recent struggles, a switch to a back three is possible and Kevin Danso could retain his place despite Romero’s return. Djed Spence may get the nod over Udogie down the left, with the Italian more likely to earn minutes off the bench. James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Kota Takai, Ben Davies, Radu Drăgușin, Archie Gray, Yves Bissouma and Dominic Solanke remain sidelined.

Chelsea’s injury list includes Cole Palmer, who will not be back until after the November international break. Levi Colwill is out for the long haul while Dário Essugo and Benoît Badiashile are also sidelined. Liam Delap is suspended after his dismissal on Wednesday. Several first-choice players who were rested or used from the bench at Molineux are expected to return, and Wesley Fofana may come back into the defence.

Tottenham predicted lineup vs. Chelsea (3-4-1-2): Vicario; Danso, Romero, Van de Van; Porro, Palhinha, Bentancur, Spence; Simons; Kolo Muani, Kudus.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs. Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Estêváo, Fernández, Neto; Pedro.

Spurs’ returning players increase their chance of a rare victory over these rivals. Both teams are strong from set pieces, and the match has potential to swing either way as Tottenham seek to exploit glimpses of form from open play and Chelsea aim to impose their structure.

Enzo Maresca has acknowledged Chelsea must reduce avoidable bookings after a series of dismissals earlier this season. The manager tempered his previous insistence that the squad had no disciplinary problem, saying players need to learn to avoid meaningless cautions during matches.

Maresca singled out Liam Delap alongside Malo Gusto and João Pedro, who were sent off earlier this season for two yellow cards, and contrasted those incidents with straight red cards shown to Robert Sánchez and Trevoh Chalobah for denying goalscoring opportunities. He spoke directly about the difference between dismissals that could be prevented and those that were harder to avoid.

“If I say that we need to avoid a red card, it’s we need to avoid red card,” Maresca told Friday’s press conference. “I say what I think is correct to say.

“Sometimes we had a red card that was difficult to avoid and sometimes we had some a red card that we could avoid.”

Pressed on whether the problem was club-wide, Maresca admitted there was room for improvement. “I think that some of the red cards that we concede, we can avoid it.

“It’s also something that we need to learn. Something that we have to do better. And for sure, no doubt that in the future we’re going to be better also on that.”

The manager’s post-match message to Delap after the win over Wolves became a central talking point. Maresca said Delap apologised to the squad immediately after the game and that he did not need to have a prolonged conversation with the striker.

“I didn’t need to speak with Liam,” Maresca continued. “I spoke with Liam, but Liam, he knows everything. He’s aware of the situation. He knows that he made a mistake. And full stop. No more than that.

“Probably because I’m not from England so sometimes when I try to translate from Italian to English, sometimes it’s a bit different. Liam, when he’s inside the pitch, is more focused to do his battle against the central defender than the rest. This was what I was telling, what I was trying to say after that game.

“There are three players in this team that I know them better than the rest. Roméo Lavia, Cole Palmer and Liam Delap because I know them from the Under-21s [at Manchester City], four years ago. So I know Liam always and I know that Liam will be a fantastic player for us but there are some things like the rest that he needs to improve.”

England have named a 21-player squad for the 48-team FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar, which begins at the start of November. The group contains a heavy contingent drawn from Premier League academies, underlining the route those clubs provide to the senior game.

Marc Guéhi, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Phil Foden were among those who started the 2017 final victory over Spain, with the latest crop of youngsters hoping to emulate their success in the coming years. Only four members of Ryan’s 21-player squad do not currently ply their trade for Premier League teams. Lyon forward Alejandro Rodríguez is the only player based outside England, while Louis Page, Dylan Moody and Igor Tyjon represent Leicester City, Southampton and Blackburn Rovers respectively in the Championship.

Manchester City supply more players than any other club. City defenders Dante Headley and Kaden Braithwaite are joined by midfielder Harrison Miles and forward Reigan Heskey, who is identified in the squad as the son of former Liverpool and Villa striker Emile Heskey. Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur provide three players each. Chelsea’s representatives are Landon Emenalo, Reggie Walsh, who has already made his senior debut at club level, and Chizaram Ezenwata. Tottenham’s trio are Jun’ai Byfield, Luca Williams-Barnett and Tynan Thomspon.

Liverpool are the only traditional Big Six club without a player in the travelling party. Arsenal’s sole inclusion is goalkeeper Jack Porter, the 17-year-old who made his Gunners senior debut in the Carabao Cup last season. West Ham United’s Lanre Awesu and Southampton’s Dylan Moody complete the goalkeeping group.

Other Premier League names in the squad include Manchester United’s Bendito Mantato, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Freddie Simmonds, Fulham’s Seth Ridgeon and Aston Villa’s Bradley Burrowes. The list reflects the strength of top-flight youth systems and offers a clear development pathway for those selected.

England have been drawn into Group E for the tournament. Their group-stage schedule begins against Venezuela on Nov. 4, continues with Haiti on Nov. 7 and finishes against Egypt on Nov. 10, with Egypt appearing at the competition for the first time since 1997.