Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea - Combined XI
The Premier League will return to action following the international break on Saturday and the weekend promises to be nothing short of spectacular with Chelsea making the trip to Wembley as they prepare to face Tottenham Hotspur.
Both teams are separated by just a single point at the moment and a win would help them keep up with the likes of leaders Manchester City and Liverpool, who are the closest to the defending champions. However, this fixture is hardly ever about other teams as two fierce rivals battle it out for supremacy and bragging rights in London.
Mauricio Pochettino will be without a number of key players, who miss out due to injury, while Maurizio Sarri is expected to name his strongest playing eleven since Chelsea are not fazed by any fitness concerns whatsoever.
The visitors snatched a late win over Tottenham during the corresponding fixture last season, but Spurs have emerged victorious during three of their last seven league games against Chelsea.
In this segment, we formulate a combined eleven of players from both teams based on their availability for the game and run of form so far this season. Without further delay, let's take a closer look at who gets the pick from the rich vein of talent available at our disposal for selection:
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)
Kepa Arrizabalaga is almost an automatic selection between the sticks in our combined eleven due to his stellar showing for Chelsea and the lack thereof of his counterpart Hugo Lloris.
The two shot-stoppers have had contrasting fortunes in the Premier League this season and while Kepa has gone from a relatively unknown quantity to a regular at Chelsea for the average fan, Lloris has been curtailed by his antics both on and off the pitch.
Chelsea, who paid a record fee to replace Thibaut Courtois with Kepa in the summer, have not been disappointed as the Spaniard has kept six clean sheets until now in the Premier League.
Lloris, who was found guilty of drunk driving earlier this season, has struggled to build on his success with France in the World Cup and is yet to hit the lofty standards set by him in the past.