De Zerbi calls Tottenham's one win in 41 Stamford Bridge visits 'good motivation' ahead of Chelsea derby

Roberto De Zerbi insists Tottenham’s near-historic inability to win at Stamford Bridge should fire up his squad rather than haunt them, as Spurs prepare for Saturday’s Premier League London derby against Chelsea.

Spurs have claimed just one victory at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League era and have lost 10 of their last 12 meetings with Chelsea. Yet De Zerbi was emphatic that the record is not a burden he intends to carry into the dressing room.

“It has to be one motivation more — not one more problem for us,” the Tottenham head coach said. “I play just one game with Chelsea as Tottenham coach. I was not the Tottenham coach in the last seasons. It is not a problem. We have already many problems and this is not a problem.”

De Zerbi added that he wants his players to channel the weight of that history into energy on the pitch. “For the players, I want this negative record to give us more motivation, more mentality, more energy to win a game,” he said. “We have the qualities enough to win. The level of the players is high. We have to show together as a team, not as an individual.”

Tottenham’s task is complicated by a growing injury list. Destiny Udogie is ruled out, while James Maddison — who scored on his first start in 536 days in Monday’s 3-1 home win over Coventry — has missed three days of training and is a doubt. De Zerbi confirmed he would not rush the midfielder back, citing the volume of injuries across European football this season.

“In the first three days Maddison didn’t work with us — I don’t know if he’s ready for tomorrow,” De Zerbi said. “I don’t want to take risks, because if you analyse this period of European football, you can see many injuries, not just for Tottenham, for everyone.”

Dejan Kulusevski, making his way back from an 18-month absence, has also been on an individual training programme, though De Zerbi indicated the Swede is progressing well. On a more positive note, Pedro Porro has recovered from a hamstring problem and is available, while Andy Robertson and Omar Marmoush — both forced off against Coventry — have been cleared to play.

Spurs’ last win at Chelsea came in 2018, and De Zerbi’s side will need to produce something historically rare to end that run on Saturday.