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Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas sent out his troops in a 4-2-3-1 formation against his former club with Huddlestone and Sandro the holding midfielders behind an attacking trio of Aaron Lennon, Sigurdsson and Clint Dempsey, with Jermain Defoe the focal point in attack. Frank Lampard was available for the Blues after injury, but had to be content with a place on the bench. The England international did not disappoint, forming a generally sound partnership and also opening the scoring with a blistering volley. Gary Cahill, as expected, was brought into the starting XI in place of Terry alongside David Luiz at the heart of the defence. Mousa Dembele (hip) was another key absentee for the hosts, with Gylfi Sigurdsson coming in, while Brad Friedel was brought back at the expense of Hugo Lloris. Tom Huddlestone replaced the Wales international in the starting XI and his electric pace was clearly missed by the home side.
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Tottenham suffered a major setback in the run-up to kick-off with Gareth Bale ruled out at the last minute as his partner had gone into labour. Terry continues to dominate the headlines, despite not featuring in the six-goal thriller at White Hart Lane as he served the first of his four-game ban imposed by the Football Association for racially abusing Ferdinand 12 months ago.ĭespite the off-field distractions which have dogged the Blues this term, Di Matteo's men have continued the momentum of last season's UEFA Champions League and FA Cup successes, with their exciting summer signings producing some scintillating football which will doubtless please owner Roman Abramovich. After eight games of the Premier League season, Chelsea are sitting pretty at the top of the pile, with their only dropped points coming from the 0-0 draw with QPR which was overshadowed by the John Terry-Anton Ferdinand hand-shake row.