Tottenham have made just one change from the side that beat West Ham 4-1 last weekend. Ryan Mason replaces the suspended Dele Alli in central midfield.
Mason played the majority of Thursday night’s win against Qarabag and is preferred to the returning Erik Lamela, who is named among the substitutes.
Mousa Dembele will likely play in a more advanced role alongside Christian Eriksen and Heung-Min Son.
Diego Costa has been dropped for Chelsea with Eden Hazard selected as a lone striker.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the team news.
Interesting choice – Mason over Lamela. Allows Dembele to play higher, also gives a runner from deep. But Mason did play 73 minutes midweek.
— Chris Miller (@WindyCOYS) November 29, 2015
#thfc Thought so. Dembele was playing well as the No10, & scoring, before dropping into the deeper role again. Should cause Chelsea problems
— Ben Pearce (@BenPearceSpurs) November 29, 2015
STAT: @ChrisEriksen8 makes his 100th #THFC appearance today. Show your appreciation, tweet using #Eriksen100. #COYS pic.twitter.com/HcPM5Aznmw
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 29, 2015
Think Lamela needed to play today, but Chelsea are packing out the midfield. Mason has to help out Dier more than usual today
— Ledders (@Georgaldinho) November 29, 2015
Big, big game for Ryan Mason today. Midfield battle will be brutal and Dele has left big boots to fill. Back him to step up though. #COYS
— Tom Edwards (@tomedwards) November 29, 2015
#coys Players not in the 18: McGee, Fazio, Davies, Bentaleb, Alli, Winks, Chadli, Pritchard, Townsend.
— The Tottenham Way (@TheTottenhamWay) November 29, 2015
Great team!! Gutted that Alli can't play today but Mason works hard for the team anyway! #COYS
— Sam Ramm (@SamRamm) November 29, 2015
Mason a decent replacement for Alli. Dembele the man to watch today . On ?
#COYS
— Faizal Dessai (@FDessai) November 29, 2015
Fans with short-term memory seem to forget Mason was part of the team that beat Chelsea 5-3 last year & that was with Terry & Costa!
#THFC
— Ricky Sacks (@RickSpur) November 29, 2015
My seat in place behind the sofa. Chelsea will really be up for this, so patience, patience, patience #TOTCHE
— Uncle Norman Giller (@NormanGiller) November 29, 2015
