Chelsea have won 35 Premier League games and scored 116 Premier League goals against Tottenham, more than they have vs any other opponent.

The Blues have won five of their seven games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in all competitions (D1 L1), the most wins any visiting side has picked up at the ground since Spurs moved there in 2019.

Nicolas Jackson has scored four goals in his two Premier League games for Chelsea against Tottenham, netting a hat-trick in this exact fixture last season.

Speaking in his pre-match conference, Maresca said that he had “nothing to add” on talk regarding his side being in the title race.

“I said I don’t think we are there and ready to compete with Arsenal, Liverpool and City. We are not thinking about April, May or June. It’s too early. Things can change quick in football.

On his expectations, he said that Chelsea are “ahead of my expectations”, adding: “In terms of points and how we want to play on and off the ball, I was convinced we’d reach that moment but not so early. It’s because the players are doing fantastic.”

On Spurs, he added: “First of all they have good players and a good manager.

“It’s very clear what they want to do on and off the ball. What kind of problems they have, I don’t know. You have to be there to understand. A fantastic team – they beat City 4-0 two weeks ago.”

Chelsea’s winter fixtures are altogether more easy to navigate, though there could be some difficult matches in there:

12/12 – Astana v Chelsea, 3.30pm

15/12 – Chelsea v Brentford, 7pm

19/12 – Chelsea v Shamrock Rovers, 8pm

22/12 – Everton v Chelsea, 2pm

26/12 – Chelsea v Fulham, 3pm

30/12 – Ipswich v Chelsea, 3pm

Tottenham were unbeaten in their first four Premier League London derbies under Ange Postecoglou (W2 D2) but have lost seven of their last 13 (W4 D2). Five of their six London derby wins under the Australian have been at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however.

Spurs have kept just one clean sheet in their last 22 Premier League home games (4-0 v Everton this season), a run which started with a 4-1 loss against Chelsea last November.

Since the start of November 2023 no side currently in England’s top four tiers have recorded fewer home league clean sheets than Spurs.

Ange Postecoglou has lost each of his two league games against Chelsea but has only lost his first three top-flight league meetings with three clubs: Adelaide City (1996-97) and Sydney United (1996-97).

Among teams he has played 1,000+ minutes against, Tottenham forward Son Heung-Min’s worst minutes per goal rate in the Premier League is against Chelsea, netting just twice in 16 appearances.

In his pre-match press conference, Ange Postecoglou emphasised that he doesn’t “need support”, nor does he “worry about contracts”.

“I don’t worry about support. I just want to set out to achieve what I wanted to and that’s to bring success to this football club.

“[Fans] aren’t behind me, they are behind the club. I have got no interest in who is behind me. You have to figure the fans who travel to Bournemouth are fairly hardcore supporters. They weren’t happy with what they saw and they felt like they needed to give some feedback.

“The disappointment last night was that there was a repeat cycle of us going into games, starting well enough but then allowing the opposition to get a grip on it by either conceding a sloppy goal or not taking our opportunities. It was a disappointing night and we have a lot of work to do.

“Chelsea are going really well, they are in a good space at the moment with a fairly healthy squad and in good form. It is always a tough game against them but we are at home and we need to make sure we produce a performance like we have in the other games.”

The busy winter period means it doesn’t get any easier for Spurs, who have some tough fixtures around Christmas. Their remaining fixtures this month include:

12/12 – Rangers v Spurs, 8pm

15/12 – Southampton v Spurs, 7pm

19/12 – Spurs v Man United, 8pm

22/12 – Spurs v Liverpool, 4.30pm

26/12 – Nottingham Forest v Spurs, 3pm

29/12 – Spurs v Wolves, 3pm

Tottenham have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games against Chelsea (D2 L8), picking up a 2-0 home win in February 2023.

After a run of just two wins in 13 Premier League away games against Tottenham between 2006 and 2018 (D5 L6), Chelsea have now won four of their last five visits to Spurs (L1).

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has defended the club’s summer transfer policy and insisted the decision to sign a number of teenagers will eventually bear fruit.

Barely a fortnight on from a remarkable 4-0 victory at Manchester City, Postecoglou received abuse from a section of Tottenham’s travelling support on the south coast and his task does not get any easier, withLondon rivals Chelsea set to visit on Sunday.

These two teams have met a total of 161 times, with the first meeting dating back to 1909. Overall, Chelsea have won 72, Spurs have won 50 and 39 have ended as draws.

Chelsea won both encounters last season, winning 2-0 at home and earning a 4-1 win away in a crazy match that involved two red cards for Spurs.

Enzo Maresca savoured chants of ‘we’ve got our Chelsea back’ from travelling fans following a 5-1 Premier League thrashing of 10-man Southampton at St Mary’s.

Blues supporters also sang the name of head coach Maresca during the closing stages of an emphatic success sealed by goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and substitute Jadon Sancho.

Bottom club Southampton briefly levelled through Joe Aribo but were a man down from the 39th minute after captain Jack Stephens was sent off for pulling the hair of Marc Cucurella.