Spurs are set to visit Stamford Bridge for a Premier League London derby on Thursday. Let’s take a look at our predicted Tottenham XI to face Chelsea.

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action this week with a massive London derby against Chelsea.

Spurs haven’t won at Stamford Bridge since 2018, and given their inconsistent form this season, the Blues will fancy their chances once again.

Tottenham have already fallen to Chelsea once this campaign, a chaotic 4-3 loss in the reverse fixture. With pressure mounting on Postecoglou, securing a win here is crucial.

Let’s take a look at our predicted Tottenham XI to take on the Blues.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face Chelsea in the Premier League

Goalkeeper – Guglielmo Vicario: Since returning from injury in February, Vicario has been ever-present between the sticks. No reason for that to change now. The Italian keeps his spot in goal for our predicted Tottenham XI.

Right-back – Pedro Porro: Porro barely featured for Spain during the international break, meaning he comes into this game fresh. He should slot straight in at right-back.

Centre-back – Cristian Romero: Romero has been making headlines this week amid reports linking Romero to Atletico Madrid. Despite that, he played 180 minutes in Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers and returned unscathed. He should be handed a start once more this Thursday.

Centre-back – Micky van de Ven: No international duty for Van de Ven this time, which means extra time with Spurs’ medical staff. The Dutchman should be fully fit and ready to feature at Stamford Bridge.

Left-back – Djed Spence: Spence has spoken openly about Tottenham’s need to win a trophy. While the Europa League remains a possibility, Spurs need a result here first. We expect him to take up the left-back role.

Pivot midfielder – Lucas Bergvall – With Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur struggling for form, Bergvall deserves a starting spot. This is the kind of game where his energy and technical ability could be key in midfield. He returns from illness just in time to make the predicted Tottenham XI.

Central midfielder – Pape Matar Sarr – Chelsea’s midfield, with Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, will bring plenty of intensity. Spurs need a runner in there, and Sarr fits the bill perfectly. Expect him to start.

Central midfielder – James Maddison – No England call-up for Maddison this time around, and that will have stung. But if there’s one thing we know about him, it’s that he thrives on proving a point. A big performance against Chelsea would be the perfect response.

Left midfielder – Heung-min Son: Some Spurs fans have debated whether Son should start out wide or be rested ahead of Frankfurt, but we think he plays here. With 11 goals and 11 assists this season, Postecoglou will be counting on his captain’s contributions.

Striker – Dominic Solanke – Solanke is still searching for his first goal since returning from injury, but his all-round game brings plenty to the table. He should lead the line against Chelsea.

Right midfielder – Wilson Odobert – Odobert has been in fine form, delivering a brace against AZ Alkmaar and two assists for France U21s against England. That kind of momentum is hard to ignore—he keeps his place on the left wing.

Who would make your predicted Tottenham XI?

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• I'm a Gen X woman with a name beloved by baby boomers, but often misunderstood by my peers.
• Today the name Linda is often associated with a frumpy archetype, as seen in TV shows and memes.
• The unique "y" in the spelling of my name helps me stand out from the Lindas of the world.

"Linda? That's my aunt's name!"

I probably wasn't even out of my teens before I'd lost count of the number of times a cute boy said this to me. "You have an old name because you had old parents," my older sister flatly told me once. My friends more tactfully insisted that "No, the 'y' makes it a totally different name!"

But my sister wasn't wrong: I'm a Gen X Lynda with a name beloved by the parents of baby boomers and even the silent generation. These days, the name has been reduced to a frumpy archetype. How did a name that was the equivalent of a TikTok sensation of its day become so relentlessly uncool?

Lindas are getting a bad rap

The "y" is the only thing standing between me and the Lindas of the world. As a Linda, I'm an episode-long joke on "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" in which everyone is confounded by a baby named Linda because Lindas are adult women who work in HR. There's also the bossy busybody of the "Listen Linda" meme (there but for the grace of Karen go I), which originated with a Linda recording her three-year-old son repeatedly insisting "Listen, Linda" with all of the exasperated patience he can muster faced with the implacable bureaucracy that a Linda embodies. As a Lynda, I have plausible deniability.

The comedic success of both the TV show and the meme relies on the confidence that we've all noticed certain things about people named Linda and that we'll all get the joke, and we do.

"Who's Linda? Your mom's friend?" Linda is the type of person who carries SlimFast in her purse and gets mad when she can't find her keys. Linda says things like "Mondays," with that little rueful head shake, you know the one. Of course she does. And Linda's meddling opinions likely need to be shut down: Listen, Linda.

We all know this Linda, but why? How did this extraordinarily popular name become this frumpy archetype?

The name isn't poised for a comeback — yet

One thing all the characters in the Kimmy Schmidt episode agree on — including the five middle-aged Lindas who all work in HR at the same company — Linda definitely can't be a baby.

These days, they aren't wrong. In the US, the name Linda began its sharp rise in popularity in the late 1930s, peaked in the late 1940s, and declined dramatically throughout the 1960s and 1970s to become one of the unlikeliest names given to babies today.

This is my name, and I'm keeping it

Of course, we Lyndas with a "y" were always somewhat rare, which is why I've always side-eyed HR departments, try not to make everything my business, and can solemnly swear not a sip of SlimFast has ever passed my lips. I do get mad when I can't find my keys though.

I try not to think much about the fact that I was almost an Elizabeth as I'm convinced my life would have taken a completely different trajectory. Elizabeth surely would have been several inches taller than my five-foot-one-inch frame and would probably have had a decent sense of direction. She'd have published a novel in her twenties and probably landed on one of those "30 Under 30" lists.

However unenamoured I have always been of my name, I've also never considered changing it. Wouldn't that just leave me with another name I'd also get tired of, only I'd have no one but myself to blame?

There's another reason I'm kind of attached to Lynda though. My father loved the name and had always wanted a daughter named Linda. My mother suggested the "y" addition just so it would be a little different. The name meant something to them even if it seems slightly ridiculous to me. Now that they're both gone, it feels like a lasting thread of connection with them both.

That and the fact that it's Lynda with a "y." I'm not one of those Lindas other people talk about — at least not as long as I can find my keys.