3. Tottenham have Alli
Philippe Coutinho may be dominating the English press with news of a potential move to Barcelona, but it’s Dele Alli that is the country’s most exciting young attacking midfielder. Chelsea will have their hands full trying to deal with his movement and trickery all match long.
N’Golo Kante will be the Chelsea player tasked with dealing with Dele for most of the afternoon. The former Leicester City midfielder is arguably the league’s top defensive midfielder, but containing Dele isn’t a one man job.
His lack of a competent partner will be a huge issue today. Tiemoue Bakayoko is meant to be his full-time partner this year, but his fitness is very much in question heading into the match. If he can’t recover in time to make the start, Conte is going to be forced into providing Kante a less than ideal partner.
No matter who Chelsea line up in their midfield, they’ll have their hands full with Dele. Of course, if they focus too much energy on the precocious Englishman, they could get sliced open by Christian Eriksen.