Emi Martínez is out with a broken jaw, and Mike Penders is in line for his first Premier League start against Spurs
Chelsea are fourth and Tottenham 16th before Saturday’s London derby at Stamford Bridge, which kicks off at 10pm IST.
Oct 24, 2026
Chelsea will have a goalkeeper making his first Premier League start when Tottenham come to Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Emiliano Martínez has had surgery on a fractured jaw, and Mike Penders is expected to take his place.
Kick-off is at 5.30pm in London, which is 10pm IST. Chelsea are fourth with 13 points from seven games. Tottenham are 16th with six, and they only won their first league game of the season on Monday.
Penders gets his chance
Martínez was hurt in a collision with Jarrad Branthwaite during last Saturday’s 2-0 win at Everton and went to hospital. Penders came on for him and saw out the clean sheet. Xabi Alonso said on Friday that Martínez will be out for “a few weeks”, and that it would hopefully be “less than more”.
Alonso said the young Belgian had been training well and had shown his level in the cup games he has played this season. He has also talked to Thibaut Courtois about him, and said Courtois could see similarities.
The rest of Chelsea’s injury list is familiar. Reece James is still out after knee surgery, Jamie Gittens has an ankle problem, Emmanuel Emegha is not fit yet and Pep Chavarría is “not going to make it”, in Alonso’s words. Malo Gusto is fine.
Chelsea arrive in decent shape. They beat Bournemouth 5-1 at home and then won at Everton, where Pedro Neto scored both goals and Chelsea kept their first Premier League clean sheet since 17 January.
De Zerbi is short of bodies
Roberto De Zerbi has a longer list. Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert both have cruciate ligament injuries, Destiny Udogie is unavailable, and Mykhailo Mudryk, who is on loan from Chelsea, is also out. James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are doubts.
There was better news on Andy Robertson, who went off against Coventry. De Zerbi said he is available, which matters with Udogie out.
Monday’s 3-1 win over Coventry ended a run of three defeats and three draws to start the season. Maddison, on his first start in 536 days, scored the first, and Omar Marmoush and Ben Davies added the others.
Where it could turn
On form, Chelsea should be favourites. They have won their last two league games, and Spurs have won one all season. The goalkeeper is the part nobody can predict. Penders has played part of one league game, and a full derby is a different job. If Tottenham want something from the trip, making him deal with crosses and shots early looks like their best idea.