Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino believes unbeaten Tottenham are genuine contenders for the Premier League title this season.
Ange Postecoglou’s side are top of the table after ten games and Chelsea travel to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Monday.
When asked of Spurs’ title prospects, Pochettino said that he thinks his former club are well and truly in the race.
“Yes, I think so, and I think they are doing a fantastic job. I think Ange and the whole coaching staff that I know very well, they are doing a fantastic job”, said the Chelsea manager.
“Of course (they have) very good players, a very good team. You can feel they can be a contender. Of course it is early in the season.
“They are showing the quality to be a contender.”
Chelsea head into the London derby off the back of another home defeat to Brentford and Pochettino’s side currently sit in the bottom half of the Premier League.
A place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup was secured in the midweek, with a comfortable 2-0 win against Blackburn Rovers.
But Chelsea go into the gam as underdogs against high flying Spurs and Pochettino says the two clubs are at different stages.
“We are in a different project, all the history at Chelsea is to win, and to win big things”, said Pochettino.
“I think Chelsea in the last 15 years won a lot of titles, now we are in a different situation. We are building something for the future.
“Maybe we have struggled a little bit at the beginning because we are not managing the details well, and we have lost too many points.
“We deserve more, but as a team we are still so young. No doubt that in the future Chelsea will be in the place they deserve to be.”
