Tottenham take on Chelsea in the match of the weekend when the Premier League returns and will have a chance to leapfrog their London rivals if they can claim all three points on the day.
It will not be an easy task, though, for Mauricio Pochettino’s men with Chelsea in fine form under Maurizio Sarri and having a host of quality players to call upon including summer signing Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Kepa arrived at Stamford Bridge during the last transfer window for £71m (via BBC Sport), a world-record fee for a goalkeeper, and has adapted to the Premier League well.
As for Tottenham, they also have a very good No.1 between the sticks in Hugo Lloris, adding to Saturday’s highly-anticipated clash between the two London sides.
But how do the Tottenham and Chelsea goalkeepers compare?
Hugo Lloris
Lloris, fresh from leading France to the World Cup in Russia, has not been at his best this season. The Frenchman has been letting a few more errors slip into his game of late, costing his side the odd goal, as a result.
Looking at Lloris’ Tottenham career fully since he arrived from Lyon back in 2012, though, the 31-year-old has gone on to become one of the leading goalkeepers in the Premier League despite the costly mistake he can be prone to making.
Shot-stopping wise, the World Cup-winning captain is probably one of the best in Europe, while his decisiveness when it comes to coming off his line often denies an opposition forward of a good goal-scoring opportunity.
In the past, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has come under heavy criticism for matters related to transfer market activity. But bringing in Lloris and for such a low fee has to go down as one of the best pieces of business seen in the Premier League era.
TT Grade: A-
Kepa Arrizabalaga
In contrast to Lloris, Kepa arrived in England for an enormous fee and as a relatively unknown player to most people.
The 24-year-old, however, who was brought in to replace Thibaut Courtois, has made it easy to understand why Chelsea decided to fork so much out on him with his performances so far.
His shot-stopping has been brilliant, evident in games against West Ham and Southampton, while his distribution has been extremely accurate — an essential in a Sarri team.
Be it with his right or left foot, Kepa has had no problem finding a team-mate on the pitch with a short or long pass even when under pressure, something which Courtois struggled with.
It is early days, of course, but so far it is looking like money well spent by the Blues.
TT Grade: A
TT Verdict:
Lloris is obviously the more experienced shot-stopper compared to Kepa both at club and international level.
For years now, he has been a top Premier League goalkeeper and one of the most consistent in the division since joining Tottenham.
However, it is hard to ignore the sort of errors he can make, while his distribution is nowhere near as good as Kepa’s.
Considering that, the way Kepa has been playing this campaign and his immense potential, the Chelsea No.1 wins this battle.
