Tottenham
head coach Mauricio Pochettino expects Chelsea to make a strong recovery
after their nightmare start to the Premier League season.
The Blues will arrive at White Hart Lane on Sunday 10 points behind their
London rivals, who were fifth in the table ahead of this weekend's fixtures
with the champions down in 15th.
However, Pochettino is refusing to write them off and he is also concerned
about his side's lack of preparation time for the game following their
Europa League match in Azerbaijan on Thursday.
"Chelsea have very good players and a great manager," said Pochettino. "It's
always difficult to speak about another team because when you are outside
that club you do not know what is going on and it is difficult to analyse.
"Sometimes teams have bad results and that can change a very good team. But
they have time to recover and come back still this season.
"They also have extra days to prepare for our match. I am expecting a very
tough game because they have very good players."
Tottenham won the corresponding fixture last season 5-3 on New Year's Day
and Pochettino reckons that result gave his side additional belief.
"That match was very special," said Pochettino. "It was very important for
us. It was an important time to believe in ourselves and for the young
players.
"For many players it was that belief that we can achieve important things.
Now our mentality is that every time we play we need to show we have the
quality to win every game.
"When you work hard and you play well you need a positive result to be
confident and to believe. The positive result was the victory against
Chelsea. It helped the team to believe more.
"We started to feel that the players believe, they are confident and
comfortable in the way we play, the way we train, and I think that is the
most important thing."
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