GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Chelsea (Solanke 5)

4 min Chelsea win a corner on the left. Palmer has to wait while Spurs fans throw a few things towards him. Eventually he takes it short, gets it back in and whips in a dangerous cross that is fractionally behind the leaping Colwill at the far post. His header flies across the other side of the field and is collected by Neto. The end.

3 min “Shouldn’t that be Spursy and Hyde?” says Joe Pearson. “Since Jekyll was sort of a milquetoast? Just asking.”

Are you suggesting I haven’t read Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 Gothic horror novella and am throwing literary references around willy-nilly without knowing what I’m talking about. Because you’d be right.

1 min A bad ball from Badiashile – a Benoit balls-up, if you’re a Goldie Lookin’ Chain fan – goes straight to Kulusevski 30 yards out. He’s slightly indecisive by his standards, eventually playing a pass outside to Johnson. His cross is deflected behind for a corner, from which nothing eventuates.

1 min Spurs kick off from right to left as we watch.

“Caicedo will invert in possession, playing next to Lavia,” says our man Jacob Steinberg. “Fernandez pushes on and it becomes a 3-2-5.”

The way we describe formations is outdated, isn’t it? I know this sounds a pretentious but you really need to list two formations – one with and without the ball. <Two Banks> Ideally 4-4-2 and 4-4-2 </Two Banks>

A reminder of the teams

Spurs (4-3-3) Forster; Pedro Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bissouma, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Son.
Substitutes: Austin, Reguilon, Dragusin, Spence, Maddison, Gray, Bergvall, Werner, Lankshear.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Caicedo, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Lavia; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
Substitutes: Jorgensen, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Gusto, Dewsbury-Hall, Veiga, Madueke, Felix, Nkunku.

Referee Anthony Taylor.

Enzo Maresca’s thoughts

Tottenham are a very good team with good players, a good squad and a good manager. Today they have Romero and Van de Ven, and for sure they are going to do well.

[On the chance to go within four points of Liverpool] It’s an opportunity because we can improve and these kinds of games tell us [how they can improve]. For me it’s no more than that. Our focus isn’t about Liverpool and City, it’s about us and how we can improve.

Ange Postecoglou’s pre-match thoughts

It’s a welcome boost for us [to have Romero and Van de Ven back]. We thought Micky would return next Thursday but he trained really well; both of them were really keen to play.

We’ve been in this position before when we’ve got a good result against a top side [after some poor results]. Irrespective, it’s a big game: it’s a derby, they’re in a good place and it’s a great test for us. Here at home, when we play our football, we’re hard to stop.

Having that energy with the fans at home can really help give you an edge. Sometimes we have to play our part too – we have to get them excited. Hopefully we can start the game well and put Chelsea on the back foot.

In an entirely precedented development, I was a bit dim when I looked at Chelsea’s team. Moises Caicedo, not Romeo Lavia, will start at right-back – partly to take good care of Son Heung-min, partly because he played there against Aston Villa last weekend and I definitely knew that and you can’t prove otherwise.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Caicedo, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Lavia; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.
Substitutes: Jorgensen, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Gusto, Dewsbury-Hall, Veiga, Madueke, Felix, Nkunku.

A win today would move Chelsea within four points of Liverpool, albeit having played a game more. Who knows: Chelsea v Liverpool on 3 May could be an unlikely title decider.

There aren’t too many worries on that score

It’s already been a good day for Spurs and Chelsea, with their beloathed Arsenal’s title chances suffering a blow at Craven Cottage. These are the results from the 2pm games.

• Fulham 1-1 Arsenal

• Ipswich 1-2 Bournemouth

• Leicester 2-2 Brighton

Team news

Preamble