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Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, with a victory key to their hopes of finishing in the Champions League places this season.

Enzo Maresca did not play down the magnitude of Chelsea's upcoming Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, labelling it a "huge" game.

Chelsea find themselves in the top four heading into the match at Stamford Bridge, but could be out of the Champions League places by the time kick-off comes around.

The Blues are a point ahead of Manchester City, who face Leicester City on Wednesday, with Newcastle United and Brighton also within striking distance.

Chelsea have lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games against Spurs (W9 D2), winning the last three in a row by an aggregate score of 10-4.

Ange Postecoglou's side are 14th in the standings, though Maresca said their position in the table meant nothing heading into the London derby.

"It's a huge game. We know how important it is for the fans and the club. It is also important for us to try and finish where we are now," Maresca said.

"Tottenham have a lot of good players, but no matter who is playing, it's going to be a derby, and it's the Premier League and you can struggle against any team.

"We want to be direct and quick when they press higher. We cannot be direct and quick if they sit back.

"In our last three home games, they have all been games with every player behind the ball. When you have players who love to run behind, it is easier.

"If we win, you can build momentum for the end. They are all important games. We need to win as many games as we can, and we will see where we finish."

Maresca was also on hand to discuss the future of Jadon Sancho, who is currently on loan at Chelsea from fellow Premier League side, Manchester United.

Sancho's move to Stamford Bridge included an obligation for the Blues to buy him at the end of the season if they finish 14th or higher in the table.

The reported fee is expected to be between £20-25million, though the 25-year-old has failed to impress for Chelsea this season.

He has registered just seven goal involvements (two goals, five assists) in 23 appearances in the Premier League this campaign.

Sancho's last contribution came with an assist for Cole Palmer in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in January, with Maresca left wanting more from the attacker.

"You probably have more news than me in terms of Jadon. For me, his situation does not change, it is exactly the same," Maresca added.

"For sure, he can do better in terms of numbers, no doubt, but it is not only about Jadon. We have more players in the same situation.

"I do not need to give Jadon a message, I speak with him every day. I had a conversation with him yesterday.

"He needs to continue to give his best until the end. That is what we want from Jadon."

Maresca also revealed that attacking trio Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson would all be available to face Spurs.

"Cole is back, he is okay. Noni is better. Nico is better. They are all good," he said.

Tottenham travel to Chelsea on Thursday in the Premier League and head coach Ange Postecoglou had identified their failings this season.

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has suggested that the biggest mistake of their season was attacking it with too much force at the beginning of the year.

Spurs are currently 14th in the Premier League, having lost 15 of their 29 matches, and travel to Chelsea on Thursday after a near-three-week hiatus.

Having won just three of their last 13 matches in the Premier League, they are on course for their lowest league position for 21 years since finishing 14th in 2003-04.

“I guess the domino effect of certain things happening. You try and assess things as you go along but my inclination is we probably got the start of the year wrong," said Postecoglou.

“It’s becoming increasingly challenging for footballers these days they don’t get a traditional break, I just think we went into the start of the season really hard and probably underestimated the challenges of Europe this year with your two extra games and having a big cup run.

“Then you add into the mix that we lost some key players earlier on and it feels like we’ve been chasing our tail ever since and we haven’t been able to get some steady ground.

"A lot of that goes back to the start of the year, maybe we would have taken a different approach knowing the season we had ahead.”

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, meanwhile, spoke about the gap between themselves and the teams at the top of the Premier League following his side's 1-0 defeat at Arsenal in their last league game.

“It is quite big,” said Maresca, when asked about the gap between Arsenal and Chelsea. “The reason why is because they are working with the same manager for five years.

“The difference is quite important. With the same players, they already played for some important games.

“But our target, our duty is to close that gap between us and them. In this moment, the table just says the difference between us and them it’s six points, if I am not wrong."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chelsea – Marc Cucurella

Cucrella has scored two goals in his last three league appearances for Chelsea, having scored in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time in his time at the club.

The Spaniard has also registered at least one shot in seven of his last nine league games, while he has had two in his last two matches.

Tottenham Hotspur – Son Heung-min

Son has registered nine Premier League assists this season, making him one away from recording 10+ assists in four separate seasons in the competition (10 in each of 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2023-24), which would equal Christian Eriksen’s Premier League record for Tottenham.

Son ranks equal-11th for goal involvements in the Premier League this season, having netted seven times alongside his nine assists.

MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN

Chelsea have lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games against Spurs (W9 D2), with their last defeat coming in November 2018.

Chelsea have also won their last three matches in a row against Spurs by an aggregate score of 10-4.

They have, in fact, won more Premier League games (36) and scored more Premier League goals (120) against Tottenham than they have vs any other opponent.

No side has earned fewer points in Premier League London derbies this season than Tottenham Hotspur (10, level with Brentford), who have lost five of nine such games this season (W3 D1).

Coming into this matchday, only Leicester (10) and Southampton (12) have lost more Premier League away games this season than Tottenham Hotspur (eight). Not since 2008-09 have Spurs suffered more away defeats in a single league campaign (11).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chelsea – 54.5%

Draw – 21.6%

Fulham – 24%