Chelsea host Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday 8th May 2013 (KO 19:45) in the 36th round of 2012-13 Premier League matches in a game which was postponed due to Chelsea's FA Cup involvement.
Chelsea come into the game in 3rd place on 65 points with Spurs in 5th place on 65 points in a game which will have a dramatic impact on the race to secure Champions League football for the 2013-14 season. This will be the 190th time the two teams have met each other.
Chelsea are one of the few major English football teams who never played Spurs during the Victorian Era, as they were only founded in 1905 and were admitted into the Second Division of the Football League without ever having played a match before.
This was due to the rivalry that existed at the time between the Football League and the Southern League with the former desperate to make in-roads into the lucrative markets which London and the South-East provided.
The first meeting between Spurs and Chelsea was a friendly played at Stamford Bridge in February 1908 and ended in a 2-2 draw.
The same venue saw the first Football League Division One encounter in December 1909 and Chelsea won that match 2-1.
The return fixture at White Hart Lane was won by Spurs 2-1 and in between those two matches the clubs met in the old second round (today's fourth round) of the FA Cup in a match which Spurs won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Spurs and Chelsea would meet for another three seasons in the First Division before the outbreak of World War One with honours even at two wins for Spurs, two wins for Chelsea and two drawn matches.
14 games were played during the First World War and these featured many players who 'guested' for both clubs. Five of Tottenham's "home" games were played at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium.
Spurs and Chelsea had finished in the bottom two places in the last season of the First Division when war broke out and when football resumed in 1919, the Division was expanded from 20 to 22 teams.
Arsenal engineered a 'promotion' to the First Division at Spurs' expense but Tottenham easilly won the Division Two Championship and the next season had two emphatic wins over Chelsea 5-0 at home and 4-0 at the Bridge.
The teams would meet for another five seasons in the First Division and two seasons in the Second Division during the inter-war period - season 1929-30 was the last time Spurs & Chelsea played League games outside the Top Flight of English Football.
Spurs only lost two of those 14 League matches.
During World War Two, 16 games were played between Spurs and Chelsea
Spurs returned to the First Division in season 1950-51 and did the 'double' over Chelsea winning 2-0 away and 2-1 at home on their way to the first Football League Championship.
Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea contested the first all-London FA Cup Final in 1967 at Wembley with Spurs winning 2-1 thanks to goals scored by Jimmy Robertson and Frank Saul.
The first meeting in the Football League Cup came in the 1971-72 Semi-Finals with Chelsea winning the first leg at Stamford Bridge 3-2 and Spurs only managing a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane.
Both clubs were founder members of the Premier League in 1992-93 and both have been ever-present for the 21 seasons of the competition, along with Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Chelsea have very much had the upper hand during the Premier League Era with 23 wins to Tottenham's 3 with the remaining 15 matches drawn.
A second domestic Cup Final was contested in 2008 when Spurs beat Chelsea in the Football League (Carling) Cup Final 2-1 after extra time at Wembley. A Dimitar Berbatov penalty and a Jonathan Woodgate header ensured the silverware would once again reside in North London.
The 2010-11 fixture in December at White Hart Lane resulted in a 1-1 draw with Roman Pavlyuchenko scoring for Spurs after 15 minutes and Didier Drogba getting Chelsea's equaliser after 70 minutes. Drogba's injury time penalty was saved by Heurelho Gomes.
The reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge in April was won by Chelsea 2-1 with Spurs taking a 19th minute lead through Sandro and Frank Lampard equalising on half time. Salomon Kalou scored the winner after 89 minutes.
The 2011-12 match at White Hart Lane in December resulted in a 1-1 draw with Emmanuel Adebayor putting Spurs ahead after 8 minutes and Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge getting the equaliser in the 23rd minute. The game at Stamford Bridge in March ended in a goalless draw.
Chelsea won the 2012 FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley 5-1 with the turning-point coming from a 49th minute Juan Mata goal which never crossed the line. Didier Drogba had put the Blues ahead just before the interval and Spurs managed to pull a goal back in the 56th minute through Gareth Bale. Three further goals from Ramares, Lampard and Malouda were added for Chelsea.
Andre Villas-Boas was sacked as Chelsea's manager in March 2012 and became the manager of Tottenham Hotspur on 3rd July 2012.
The match at White Hart Lane in October 2012 was won by Chelsea 4-2. A Gary Cahill volly after 17 minutes was the only goal of the first half and Spurs went ahead with goals from William Gallas and Jermain Defoe. A brace from Juan Mata and a Daniel Sturridge goal gave Chelsea the three points.
Overall, Spurs have won 68, Chelsea have won 74 and 47 of the 189 matches between the two clubs have been drawn.
Clive Allen
Les Allen
Jimmy Armstrong
Frank Arnesen (Director of Football both clubs)
Eddie Bailey
Ted Birnie
Danny Blanchflower (Spurs player, Chelsea manager)
Derek Brazil
Johnny Brooks
Bill Cartwright
Sid Castle
David Copeland
Carlo Cudicini
Jason Cundy
Kerry Dixon
Gordon Durie
Mark Falco
William Gallas
Lee Gardner
George Graham (Chelsea player, Spurs manager)
Jimmy Greaves
Frode Grodas
Eidur Gudjohnsen
Tommy Harmer (Spurs player, Chelsea coach)
Alan Harris (Chelsea player, Spurs asst. manager)
Micky Hazard
Glenn Hoddle (Spurs & Chelsea player & manager)
Stewart Houston (Chelsea player, Spurs asst. manager)
Percy Humphries
Steve Kelly
John Kirwan
Colin Lee
Scott Parker
Gustavo Poyet
Graham Roberts
Max Seeburg
Buchanan Sharp
Bobby Smith
Neil Sullivan
Andy Thompson (Spurs player, Chelsea coach)
Sid Tickridge
Jimmy Townley
Terry Venables (also Spurs manager)
Andre Villas-Boas (manager at both clubs)
Keith Weller
Ernie Walley (Spurs player, Chelsea asst. manager)
Harry Wilding
Clive Wilson
Vivian Woodward
