Tottenham boss De Zerbi unsure over Maddison for Chelsea trip

Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi says he has yet to decide whether James Maddison will be fit enough to face Chelsea on Saturday after the midfielder scored on his return to the starting line-up.

Maddison marked his first start in 536 days with a superb opening goal in Monday’s 3-1 victory over Coventry City, Tottenham’s first Premier League win of the season.

However, the 29-year-old has not trained with his team-mates during the three days since that match. De Zerbi must therefore assess whether Maddison can feature in the trip to Stamford Bridge.

“In the first three days after the Coventry game, Maddison didn’t work with us. I don’t know if he’s ready for tomorrow,” De Zerbi said on Friday.

“I don’t want to take risks because if you analyse this period of football you can see many injuries, not just for Tottenham.”

Tottenham have been boosted by the availability of Pedro Porro, Andy Robertson and Omar Marmoush, giving De Zerbi further choices when selecting his team.

“We can also play with Mathys Tel, with Omar Marmoush inside, with (Conor) Gallagher. We have more solutions considering Pedro Porro can play,” said the Italian.

Savio and Lucas Bergvall remain unavailable, while Dejan Kulusevski is doubtful after making his first appearance in 526 days as a late substitute against Coventry City.

Defender Destiny Udogie is also out with a knee problem. He has not played since Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United earlier this month.

De Zerbi believes the squad has enough depth to cope with the absences, but said the club’s priority was to make the right call for both the individual players and the team.

“We are lucky because in the same position we have many solutions,” he said. “We have to find the best for him and the best for us.”

Tottenham face a difficult task against Chelsea, having won only once in their last 36 Premier League visits to Stamford Bridge. They have recorded just one victory in their past 41 trips there in all competitions.

Spurs are 16th in the table with six points, while fourth-placed Chelsea have 13 points. Chelsea are also aiming to beat their London rivals in seven successive league meetings for the first time.

De Zerbi wants Tottenham’s poor record at Stamford Bridge to inspire rather than unsettle his players.

“For me, it’s one motivation more for the players,” he said.

“I want this negative record to give us more motivation, mentality and energy to win a game. We have the qualities to win this game.”