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Mauricio Pochettino urged Tottenham to forget their wretched record against Chelsea when they face the Premier League leaders at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have yet to lose in the league this season and to make matters worse, Spurs have not won at the home of their London rivals since February 1990, when Gary Lineker scored the crucial goal in a 2-1 victory.
It would be one of the shock results of the season if Spurs broke that sequence on Wednesday, but after a much-improved display in last Sunday’s 2-1 win over Everton, Pochettino is confident they can.
“For me, the record doesn’t matter at all,” he said. “It doesn’t affect me. We forget the past, because we don’t need it to affect our present. It’s important for us to have the same mentality as we did against Everton.
“We know it’s a difficult stadium because of their record there, and they have been the best team in the Premier League this season. But we’re looking forward to it and we will try to get three points.
Five things we learnt at Tottenham v Everton
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“We are more confident in our skill every day. We know we face a team who are very strong defensively, but we need to believe in ourselves.”
Pochettino has Danny Rose, Etienne Capoue and Emmanuel Adebayor available after injury and all three were due to train today.
The Argentine may decide to rotate his side as this will be their third game in seven days. His opposite number, Jose Mourinho, will be without star forward Diego Costa due to suspension.
Pochettino has faced Mourinho as a coach both in England and in Spain, and believes there are none better in the world.
“For me he is one of the best, or maybe the best manager in the world,” Pochettino added. “I have full admiration for him.”
