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It hasn't been the ideal season for both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Predicted to fight for the Premier League title at the start of the season, both London sides now have just the FA Cup and top four to fight for to save their season.
But when the two sides meet in the league, their games do tend to stand out. From Spurs' 5-3 win that announced Harry Kane's arrival in 2014/15 to the 2-2 draw at the end of the 2015/16 season that denied Spurs a chance to fight for the title to this season's 2-1 win for the Blues at Wembley, there has always been drama when these old foes meet.
Five points separate the two sides with eight games to go. And with another London derby on Saturday, we look back at the season to see who the best players for both teams were and who would get into a combined XI.
Formation: 4-3-3 (Only fit players were considered for selection)
Goalkeeper
A simple comparison of both Thibaut Courtois and Hugo Lloris shows there is nothing to separate the two goalkeepers. Both have kept 13 clean sheets and have conceded a similar number of goals while also making approximately 50 saves each this season.
However, Courtois has been far from his best this season, making mistakes in goal while Lloris has been a bit more assured. The Frenchman has made twice the number of punches while he has also caught the ball from crosses a lot more than Courtois, proving to be a very commanding presence in the box.
The Belgian, on the other hand, has now been questioned regarding his poor form and has constantly been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge as a result, despite his insistence that he will stay.
But in this XI, it is Hugo Lloris who gets the nod.
Full-Backs
Since we're going with a 4-3-3 formation, we had to rearrange the pieces on the board and give a couple of players new, but not unfamiliar, roles to fit them into the squad.
Right-Back: Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spaniard has the ability to play across the defensive line - either on the left or the right - but his assured performances as a right centre-back in a back-three makes him an automatic selection.
His ability to get forward and also provide the odd assist (he has 6 assists this season) is what makes him so valuable. In fact, all six assists have been to the same goalscorer - Alvaro Morata.
Left-Back: Marcos Alonso. While Azpilicueta had no competition for his position (anyone would pick him over the reckless Serge Aurier), Alonso's competition was Ben Davies.
Though the English full-back has been impressive this season (especially with 2 goals and 5 assists at the other end of the pitch), Alonso's ability on free-kicks and set-pieces gives him the edge here.
Besides, it was Alonso who scored twice against Spurs at Wembley to give the defending champions the win early in the season.
Centre-Backs
It's a sign of the times that two of the best centre-backs at either club in recent years do not make the list. While Toby Alderweireld has been sidelined with a long-term injury, Chelsea's actual captain Gary Cahill has had his worst season in a Blue shirt in this campaign.
Which is why his understudy has taken his place in Antonio Conte's side. In his first full season at Chelsea, 21-year-old Andreas Christensen has supplanted Cahill as the club's best centre-back option.
A good passer of the ball and a strong force to reckon with at the back, the Danish defender rarely puts a foot wrong. Even new signing Antonio Rudiger is not assured of a place in the starting lineup but Christensen is.
Spurs' 21-year-old Davinson Sanchez has done well in his first season in England but Christensen has arguably been the better of the two defenders.
The only Spurs defenders to make this combined XI is Jan Vertonghen. The Belgian centre-back has been one of the reasons for Spurs' defensive record (third-best in the league) with 53 tackles and 44 interceptions in the league this season.
Midfield
If there is one area of the pitch where Chelsea have disappointed this season, it is in midfield. Conte has still not been able to find the perfect midfield combination and N'Golo Kante's inconsistent performances have also made the Blues a porous unit in their own half.
Cesc Fabregas has lost his place in the starting lineup - a move that also saw him dropped from the Spain squad as a result - while new signing Tiemoue Bakayoko has caused more problems than solve them.
On the other hand, Mauricio Pochettino has managed to run a tight ship in midfield with Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele anchoring the middle of the park.
Dier's distribution and ability to compete in aerial duels while Dembele's physical attributes that help him hold on to the ball, make strong tackles, and even dribble past midfield players make them the perfect pair to play in the midfield double pivot.
While most of Spurs' players have impressed this season, their biggest disappointment has been Dele Alli. Playing in the hole behind the striker, he has not been as prolific as last season, scoring just 6 goals (5 of which have come against weak sides).
So instead of him, we have picked Christian Eriksen to play in the hole. Although he has been deployed predominantly on the right side of midfield, he is more than capable of playing as the central attacking midfielder in this lineup.
With 7 goals and 8 assists this season in the league, there is no better central attacking midfielder in both sides.
Forwards
Harry Kane would have been a shoo-in for this lineup but with his injury sidelining him in a crucial World Cup year, someone else has to step up and take his place. But who?
Alvaro Morata started the season strongly but has since become nothing but a shadow of his former self, scoring just one goal in all competitions since the turn of the year. Meanwhile, Olivier Giroud is yet to score for the Blues in the league.
Hence, the only player we can use up front is Son Heung-Min. The majority of his 12 goals and 4 assists have come playing out on the left but he has played up front too. With Kane missing, the goalscoring burden has now fallen on the South Korean's shoulders.
With Eriksen and Son unavailable in the wide positions, there were only two other viable options. Eden Hazard has not lit up this season as much as he would have liked but that is on the entire Chelsea squad and the responsibility does not lie with him alone.
Yet, the Belgian winger has managed to be the club's top goalscorer with 11 goals (and 3 assists). If not for Kane's injury, though, Hazard would have struggled to take Son's place out wide in this combined XI this season.
On the right is a player who has answered his critics and continued to put in a good shift and save the club a few blushes this season. Willian has 6 goals and 6 assists this season despite starting only half the games for Chelsea.
There was a time when fans were perfectly fine with Willian departing the club but with Pedro also struggling out wide, there is no better option than the 29-year-old Brazilian.
Also read: 5 players who silenced critics this season
