Jose Mourinho and Tottenham stifle Chelsea in cagey goalless draw to go top

Spurs go back to the top of the table. There was a lot to like about their first half performance, not so much about the second, but that is a good outcome after the win against Manchester City. They begin a tough run of games with four points from two. Chelsea kept their heads but did not have the snap, crackle and pop you expect for a team with so much attacking talent. 

Now Spurs threaten! After all that defensive work both teams nearly give it way. Zouma passes straight to Lucas who squared for Lo Celso around 25 yards out. The midfielder had options but clipped in a cross that missed everyone. 

Moura for Son is the final change from Mourinho. Perhaps because Son is on the far side of the pitch and jobs across. Is there a sting in the Tottenham tail?

It could have been Chelsea with the sting though! Rodon did not get enough on his header back towards Lloris and Giroud latched on to it, but he did not get enough height on the lob and Lloris saved comfortably. 

Four minutes of added time to play. Lucas Moura is about to come on. 

Lo Celso threatens to bring a moment of quality with two well-conceived through balls into the Chelsea box but Zouma does well before Mendy comes and claims a Reguilon cross superbly. Ben Davies coming on for Bergwijn for Spurs. 

Lloris comes for a Chelsea cross and misses it but Chilwell does not get the follow up delivery into the box quickly enough. James swings another looping, deep cross in and Havertz heads tamely down to Lloris. 

Chelsea knocking the ball around again, but Spurs standing firm. Mourinho has not made a change in his front three which tells you he is fairly satisfied. Giroud goes up for a cross and concedes a foul in the Spurs area. 

Are the chances starting to come? This time Chelsea have hearts in mouths as Son flashes a ball in from the right that Mendy gets a flick on but it does not drop to a Spurs player. Havertz on for Ziyech is Lampard's next change. 

Dier plays a loose pass in his own half but Chelsea let him off the hook. Kovacic played a hopeful and aimless cross from deep straight down Lloris' throat. Chilwell is back on the pitch and good to carry on. 

MOUNT! Lloris finally gets his kit dirty, plunging to his left to tip the Chelsea midfielders shot from distance around the post. Chelsea corner. Lloris takes. 

Spurs keeping the ball well all of a sudden. Pulisic has not had many touches since coming on. Now Giroud is about to join him in the Chelsea attack - the former Arsenal striker likes a goal against Spurs and will replace Abraham. 

Another yellow card shown in this second half, this time for Mount for bringing down Bergwijn. 

Kane slips a ball through to Son in the left corner of the area and he had half a yard but failed to get his shot away. Zouma clears. Spurs enjoying some possession now after a passive start to the half. 

Spurs have seen off Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic comes on to play on the left of Chelsea's attack. The home team might have a problem with Chiwell who rolled his right ankle in a 50:50 with Aurier. 

Strong defender from James with Kane looming behind him at the back post on the corner, but he flicks behind for another. From the second, Abraham heads clear in the near post zone. Chelsea breathe again and regain control. 

Hojberg read a James pass inside before Chelsea smother Kane on the halfway line at the expense of a foul. Pulisic is getting stripped off on the sidelines - how sharp is he coming back from a thigh injury. 

Meanwhile, Spurs finally get down the Chelsea end and Lo Celso wins a corner. 

Kovacic has been excellent in this half and he gets Chelsea playing again. Abraham looked to be spinning clear of Dier but his touch let him down at the vital moment. It is all Chelsea at the moment, Spurs have not got going as an attacking force in this half. 

Ziyech's cross is too heavy and flies through for a Spurs goal kick. Better second half from Chelsea overall but Lloris is yet to make a save. Then a cross from the left finds Ziyech inside Reguilon but he slashes his half-volley over. 

Ndombele in well to win the ball from Kovacic but Aurier's cross lets him down. Chelsea get back on the attack and Werner whips a cross towards Abraham at the back stick who was entangled with Dier and the ball missed everyone. Not a penalty. Lo Celso replaces the excellent Ndombele. 

Abraham receives the ball in the Spurs penalty area but again they usher him away from danger. Lo Celso is getting ready to come on for Spurs. Lampard has players like Havertz, Pulisic and Giroud to choose from.

From the free-kick, Chilwell's header flicks off Rodon for a corner. Mount over it but Reguilon clears at the near post. The ball is cleared and there is very nearly a disastrous 'after you Claude' episode between Mendy and Kante with Son lurking but Chelsea deal with it. 

Werner and Abraham looked to have some space on the break there but the latter is penalised for pulling Dier back. Not sure he needed to do that with Werner on the ball. 

Speaking of silly fouls...Sissoko pushes Werner over near the Spurs corner flag and concedes a free-kick. 

More good defensive work from Hojberg before Ndombele shows quick feet close to the touchline and draws a foul from Zouma who picks up another yellow card. Caught the Spurs midfielder on the top of the foot. 

Reguilon looking dangerous again and Ziyech does well not to nibble at his heels and give a penalty away. Kante mops up. Reguilon goes down after he is caught with an arm by James, barely it must be said, and the Chelsea defender is booked. 

Bergwijn booked for a trip on Kovacic, it was a nice dribble through midfield from the Chelsea man. Very nearly a carbon copy of their previous attack as a James cross evades Abraham's head by the narrowest of margins. Rodon tight to him again. 

Kovacic with a lovely pass into Ziyech in the pocket, the kind of space he struggled to find in the first period. He plays a first time ball into the path of James on the overlap who delivers a wicked cross that skims off the head of Abraham. Rodon was putting him under pressure. 

Ndombele gets Spurs on the front foot straight away but Chelsea defender well and get their foot on the ball for the first time in the half. 

That's more dangerous from Chelsea as Werner tries to swivel and shoot after a Ziyech cross but a foul is given against him. 

Tottenham get us started. No changes for either side. 

Spurs will be the happier of the two teams. They have not been troubled apart from the move that led to Werner's disallowed goal and have been the more threatening. Three or four well constructed counter which they failed to finish off. 

Chelsea ending the half how they started it with an almighty spell of possession in the Tottenham half but they fail to turn it into a clear-cut opportunity. Kante tries to burst through the middle but Dier gets a foot in. Reguilon gets Spurs down the pitch before the whistle blows. 

Ziyech gets free down the right and swings another cross in towards the back post but it is slightly too heavy for Werner to get there. The former Ajax winger getting more involved though. 

A bit fortuitous from Rodon as a Chilwell cross deflects off him straight to Lloris but he had a good game so far. Kante then pulled up for a foul on Son. Moments later Abraham tries to attack a cross but fouls Rodon. The game ticking towards half time. 

That was better quality from Chelsea as Ziyech whips an inswinger into the box but it is awkward for Abraham who cannot make much of a connection. If it is going to happen for Chelsea, you sense Ziyech will be involved. 

Kane headed the corner clear and then the ball won't fall for Chilwell who slices a shot wildly over the bar. Good clean challenge from Kovacic as Ndombele threatened to burst clear. 

Zouma sticks out a long leg to cut out an attempted through ball from Ndombele to Kane. All of Chelsea's early momentum has gone which is to Spurs' immense credit. They are looking for a spark. Tammy Abraham tries to provide it with a driving run from wide into the penalty box. Wins a corner. 

 Werner's disallowed goal

Good interception from Rodon at the back for Spurs. They have got the measure of Werner's out-to-in runs so far. Ndombele then carries the ball forward well and wins a free-kick which comes to nothing. 

Ziyech booked after good combination play involving Kane. He played a first time ball to the on-rushing Reguilon who was clipped.

Free kick, 30 yards or so out left of centre. Kane takes it out but gets it all wrong and it flies high, wide and handsome. 

Not often we've said this in recent weeks, but Tottenham just butchered a good counter-attacking situation. Kane with another fine pass for the run of Son down the left, he passed to Bergwijn who tried to reverse a ball back over to Ndombele but Kante cut it out. Down the other end, Mount shoots over from 25 yards after a jinking run. 

A quiet few minutes in the game. Once again the same pattern is set: Zouma and Thiago Siilva with loads of time on the ball but not too many passing options against Spurs' well-drilled unit. Sissoko and Hojberg doing a good job of protecting their defence. 

Good defending between Kante and James to crowd out Kane in the box but Chelsea struggle to construct any sort of counter-attack. Spurs looking quite comfortable after a tentative first 10. 

I know it is not Chelsea's method but you wonder if they could seek Abraham earlier in moves against an untried centre-back pairing. They are trying to build play deliberately but are struggling to pick passes through the middle into dangerous pockets of space. Tottenham letting the full-backs have it. 

Tottenham conceded some territory in the early minutes but are starting to get their eye in from an attacking point of view. Their passing is crisp and accurate when they do get on the ball. 

That was brilliant play from Ndombele in Tottenham's midfield to roll away from two Chelsea players, and Reguilon then sends in a searching cross in Kane's direction. Good header from Chilwell at the back post. 

From the second phase of the the resulting corner, Dier tees up Aurier who stings the palms of Mendy from distance. Good save. 

Chelsea have the ball in the net! But the flag goes up for offside, correctly in turns out. Chelsea suddenly had Spurs' defence exposed with Mount running it at them, he slipped a ball through to Werner in the left channel who was in all kinds of space after an Aurier slip, and the German curled a shot in off the post. Fine finish but it doesn't count. 

That was excellent counter-attacking play from Tottenham. A sweeping move ends with Reguilon picking out Kane at the edge of the box who plays a first time pass into Bergwijn's path in the left side of the area, but he blazed over after chopping back on his right foot. 

More crosses fired into the Spurs box. Mount gets free in the left half-space with a nice rotation involving Werner but his ball is too heavy, before James' cross is headed back to Lloris from the chest of Aurier. Chelsea controlling possession. 

A loose Chelsea pass allows Spurs to spring down their left flank and win a throw high up the pitch. They are forced back and once again Chelsea get themselves on the ball. Not necessarily finding it easy to find Mount or Ziyech in the pockets though. 

Spurs not pressing too high as expected, Bergwijn and Son defending quite narrow to make it a tight 4-4-2 shape without the ball. Chelsea swing another cross in from the right that Aurier fails to deal with but Werner makes nothing of it at the back post. Chelsea back on the front foot and in comfortable possession...Zouma, Thiago Silva and James getting plenty of early touches.

Good defensive intervention from Aurier who feeds Ndombele who is caught on the ball, and then Kovacic turns possession over again and Spurs' defenders get a chance to settle in possession. 

Chelsea launch the first meaningful attack of the match - Dier heads a cross from the right clear and then Ziyech hits a dipping shot from distance straight at Lloris. 

It is Chelsea who get us under way. Son lining up on the right side of Tottenham's attack initially. 

Not too many pleasantries exchanged between Lampard and Mourinho with the Tottenham manager sat in his seat in the away dugout. 

The players gather in the centre circle - of course, there is a Tottenham link to Maradona through former player and World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles. 

The biggest game of the Premier League weekend and a pivotal 90 minutes in the both teams' season. 

Two managers and two clubs who could take advantage of this chaotic Premier League season. Read the article in full here.  This is a taster:

Jose Mourinho, above all managers perhaps, has built a reputation on being able to sense blood in the water. To capitalise on confusion and vulnerability. He will be delighting in Guardiola’s apparent struggles, Jurgen Klopp complaining about the fixture schedule, Mikel Arteta’s difficulties at Arsenal and – maybe above all given his history – Manchester United’s angst. Mourinho will be delighting in not feeling any of that pressure.

Lampard has favoured a 4-3-3 in recent matches and looks to be continuing in that vein with Kovacic and Mount pushed on ahead of Kante. Last season, the Croatian midfielder tended to play deeper alongside Kante. 

By contrast, I imagine Spurs will play with a deep-lying pair of Hojberg and Sissoko with Ndombele in front of them. When Spurs get into defensive shape, Ndombele might line up as the second striker alongside Kane to free him from some tactical responsibility. Son against James and Thiago Silva in the left channel looks a good match-up. 

Chelsea:Mendy, Silva, Zouma, Chilwell, James, Kovacic, Kante, Mount, Ziyech, Abraham, Werner

Spurs: Lloris, Rodon, Dier, Aurier, Reguilon, Hojbjerg, Ndombele, Sissoko, Bergwijn, Son, Kane

You do not always get to choose when you are ready to compete for the Premier League title. The consensus view held that this campaign was a year too soon for Chelsea's expensively reshaped squad, while Tottenham and Jose Mourinho looked a marriage of convenience destined for the rocks. Now, in the last Premier League weekend of November, victory for either team at Stamford Bridge could well cement them as Liverpool's closest challengers. 

Both teams are top-heavy with attacking talent but have contrasting approaches to getting them in dangerous positions. Frank Lampard's team are more possession-focused, building play through the thirds and pushing their full-backs high up the pitch to enable the likes of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner to come in off their perch from starting positions on the flanks. 

Lampard's former boss Jose Mourinho does things differently. Although Spurs have added midfield quality through the purchase of Pierre-Emile Hojberg and the improvement of Tanguy Ndombele, they prefer to spring from deeper positions. Harry Kane drops off and looks to drag opposing centre-backs out of position, with Heung-min Son and Steven Bergwijn attacking the space they vacate.

Spurs will be without Toby Alderweireld after he suffered a groin injury against Manchester City, when Spurs were excellent, but there is a boost for Chelsea with Christian Pulisic fit again. Right-back Matt Doherty is available for Spurs but Serge Aurier was excellent against City and could well retain his place. 

"We respect their potential and I think they respect our potential. Honestly, I don't think they believe they are going to play an easy opponent," Mourinho said.

"I would love them to feel that way, but I don't think they do. Frank is a man with a lot of experience in football and I think they know we are a difficult team that is capable to go there and win."

Full team news on the way.