Lionel Messi has already warned Chelsea that Tottenham have one of the 'best defenders in the world'. Ange Postecoglou and Mauricio Pochettino will lock horns on Monday night when the two London giants go head-to-head in what is expected to be a fiery clash.

The Lilywhites sit at the top of the Premier League after 10 games and boast one of the better goalscoring records in the division, with the likes of Son Heung-min and James Maddison wrecking havoc in the final-third. Meanwhile, the Blues have struggled to break into the European qualification spots and currently sit 13th on just 12 points.

Despite a rocky start to the campaign, Pochettino will be desperate to end Spurs' unbeaten streak and pick up a crucial away win against their archenemies that can jumpstart their season. However, Chelsea will be up against Cristian Romero, who has been named as one of the 'best defenders in the world' by fellow countryman Messi.

The Tottenham centre-back has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season, helping Postecoglou's side keep four clean sheets while conceding just nine goals – the second best defensive record in the English top-flight. Speaking to Telemundo after Argentina had just beaten Ecuador in their opening World Cup 2026 qualifier on September 7, the Inter Miami star heaped the utmost praise on Romero.

"For me, he is the best defender in the world right now," said Messi, who handed his country the lead with a fantastic free-kick in the 78th minute. "Amazing performance tonight, man of the match."

Lionel Scaloni later echoed the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's thoughts. The Argentina boss said: "I have no words for the match Cuti Romero had. During the home games, people motivate him and he thinks he's He-Man, he can run 70 meters."

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Chelsea may find it difficult to breach Romero's backline, but the Blues have been struggling in front of goal already this term. Ahead of the Tottenham clash, Pochettino was asked how much he's been working on his attack in training.

The 51-year-old said: "You can work every day and spend a lot of time. You can work but improving is about your confidence and your feelings. Sometimes players need time time to recover their trust.

"Not because you practice more. You need to have the right attitude and you need to be able to settle yourself, good feelings, the will to do. You can practice and practice and it's the same but if before if your mind is in the right place you can prove.

"At the moment we are fighting with this between recovering the trust in our offensive players. The most important is to get a good balance. You can feel we are improving, progressing, it is part of the process, part of the project, it is normal when you have young players who arrive at a club like Chelsea and the demand is high from the beginning.

"The demand and the competition doesn't wait for you. You need to put all the details, come from a different league, a young guy and put pressure on you. That is why it is about the process - I am not worried, I am not concerned about that because we know what we are doing and we are going to perform and translate our performances into good results."