Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi believes his side can overcome their miserable record at Stamford Bridge when they face Chelsea, insisting the club’s previous struggles should provide extra motivation.

Spurs have won just once in their last 34 league visits to Chelsea, making Stamford Bridge one of their most difficult away grounds.

However, De Zerbi is confident his players have the quality to change that record and has urged them to approach the London derby with belief and aggression.

Speaking ahead of the clash, De Zerbi acknowledged Tottenham’s poor record at Stamford Bridge but insisted he sees it as an opportunity rather than a burden.

“I think it’s not just this negative record, there are many, many negative records but for me it’s one motivation more and for the players,” he said.

“I want this negative record to give us more motivation and more mentality, more energy to win a game and play a good game because we have enough qualities to win this game.

“It’s against one very good team, very good coach and they have a clear style of play with great players,” De Zerbi added.

“But also the Tottenham players are very good, the level of the players is high. We have to show together as a team as well as individuals.”

Tottenham boss addresses discipline after Bentancur red card

De Zerbi was also questioned about Tottenham’s discipline following Rodrigo Bentancur’s sending-off against Manchester United.

The midfielder was dismissed for a headbutt, raising concerns about how Spurs will handle the intensity of another heated Premier League encounter.

However, De Zerbi suggested he would rather see his players show too much emotion than approach matches without the necessary aggression.

“The balance is always difficult to fix – a balance between the energy, spirit, mentality,” he explained.

“If you have confidence in the players, you leave the players to decide their behaviour, to decide the reaction.”

“For sure, I prefer one ‘too strong’ reaction, than one player without blood, without reaction.”