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Football London
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George Smith

Christian Pulisic trains as Kai Havertz eyes return - Four things spotted in Chelsea training

Chelsea will be looking to extend their winning run in all competitions to seven matches when they lock horns with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon in a mouthwatering encounter.

Having been in severe danger of seeing their winning run come to an end against Rennes in the Champions League in midweek, a last-gasp winner from Olivier Giroud ensured the Blues kept their winning run in tact, as well as securing a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League with two group games to spare.

However, Tuesday's heroics in France must now be forgotten about, as focus switches back to the Premier League ahead of Sunday's visit of London rivals Spurs.

Chelsea vs Spurs is special rivalry

Chelsea, at the time of writing, will welcome their London counterparts to Stamford Bridge two points and two places behind them in the table, meaning there is a great deal riding on the match of the weekend in the Premier League.

And in a bid to ensure that gap is not increased on Sunday afternoon, Chelsea's players were pictured putting the hard yards in on the training ground at Cobham on Friday.

But what did we learn from the session? Here are four things football.london picked out.

Havertz targets return

Having stepped off the bench for the closing stages of Tuesday's win over Rennes, Chelsea midfield ace Kai Havertz will be hoping to be reinstalled to the starting line-up against Spurs.

The Germany international, who joined the Blues from Bayer Leverkusen back in September, has not started any of the last four matches after testing positive for Covid-19 at the very start of November.

Having sat out the win over Newcastle United last weekend, despite having recovered from his spell in self-isolation, he returned to the match-day squad in France in midweek, but only appeared as a 76th-minute substitute.

Now he's had a few more days involved in team training in Cobham, the midfielder will be pushing for a starting berth against Spurs.

On Friday, the 21-year-old was pictured getting stuck in on the training ground, as he looked to step up his claims for a recall to the starting line-up.

Pulisic poised to make his comeback

After missing Chelsea's last five matches with a recurring hamstring problem, Christian Pulisic is poised to be included in the match-day squad tomorrow.

The winger, who enjoyed an excellent debut season at Stamford Bridge last term, has been struggling with a hamstring complaint since the FA Cup Final in August, meaning he has continuously been in and out of the team.

But after a period of frustration, he is poised to come back for Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge.

Speaking ahead of the game, Frank Lampard said: "Pulisic is back into contention for fitness."

On Friday Pulisic was spotted in action on the training ground, offering encouragement to the Blues' supporters that he will, at least, make the bench this weekend.

He was pictured sprinting, as he looked to get himself on the ball.

Injury troubles almost non-existent

Aside from nursing youngster Billy Gilmour back into the first-team fold after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Lampard has no injury concerns to worry about ahead of tomorrow afternoon's encounter.

The Scotland Under-21 international is closing in on a return after making a handful of appearances for both Chelsea and Scotland's Under-21s in recent weeks.

Apart from that, however, Chelsea's squad is in perfect shape, with Pulisic now poised to return.

And that was proven during Friday's training session, with Lampard capable of having every member of the first-team squad participate in group training.

Lampard focusing closely

With Chelsea having beaten the likes of Burnley, Sheffield United and Newcastle United in recent weeks, tomorrow's showdown with Tottenham, with respect, is going to be a far greater test.

Not only are Spurs, at the time of writing, top of the table, but they are also blessed with the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min up front, meaning they could threaten Chelsea's excellent recent defensive record.

With Kane having adopted a deeper role so far this season, as he looks to send Son scampering through in-behind defences, Lampard's side are going to have to pay close attention to detail.

And judging by the expression on Lampard's face during Friday's training session, he is eager to see his side perform to the very best of their capabilities.

He appeared to be focusing very hard on the task in hand, as he looks to try and help Chelsea maintain their excellent run of form.

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