Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge record leaves Tottenham with little margin for error

Tottenham have won only once in 33 Premier League visits to Chelsea, and their next trip to Stamford Bridge comes with Roberto De Zerbi’s side still searching for their first league win of the season. Chelsea, by contrast, have taken 13 points from seven matches and won their last two.

Xabi Alonso looked ahead to the derby after Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Everton, telling TNT Sports: “Tottenham at home next will be a nice one.” The comment lands against a lopsided record: Chelsea have won 21 of the 33 Premier League home meetings between the clubs, while Tottenham’s sole victory came in 2018, when Dele Alli and his teammates won 3-1.

Chelsea’s recent results have shifted their league momentum. They followed a 5-1 home win over Bournemouth with the Everton victory, putting consecutive wins together after a 3-0 defeat at Brentford and a 2-2 draw with Hull City. They sit fourth, with four wins, one draw and two defeats, and a goal difference of plus four.

Tottenham are 20th with three points from six games. Three draws and three defeats have left them winless, with a goal difference of minus six. Their 1-1 draw at Manchester United offered a late lift after United were reduced to ten men, but it remains one of only three points from a run that also includes defeats to Aston Villa, Newcastle and Brentford, plus goalless draws with Everton and Nottingham Forest.

There is little room for that encouragement to remain separate from results. Spurs host Coventry on Monday, 19 October, before travelling to Chelsea on Saturday, 24 October. The Coventry match is their immediate chance to turn signs of improvement into points; another setback would leave them heading into a derby where history and current form both favour the hosts.

Chelsea won the most recent meeting at Stamford Bridge, 2-1 in the sides’ penultimate game of last season. Alonso’s relaxed line may have been a brief post-match remark, but it reflects the contrast: Chelsea can approach the derby from a position of strength, while Tottenham need to change their season before they arrive.