Spurs have no fear of ‘Big Four’ as the Lane becomes a fortress

Yet if the Blues are to keep their pursuit of leaders Manchester United on course, they will have to achieve something none of English football's "Big Four" have managed in the Premier League this season. Beat Tottenham.

Even though they have spent the entire season fighting relegation, Spurs have somehow managed to match United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal on five occasions this season. Although they have won only one of those games — a 2-1 triumph against Liverpool on 1 November — their displays in two draws with Arsenal and stalemates against United and Chelsea proved Harry Redknapp's men could compete with the elite in one-off matches.

Since Hiddink took over from Luiz Felipe Scolari on 16 February, Chelsea's confidence has grown to such a degree that they again resemble the tough, durable outfit that won back-to-back Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho in 2005 and 2006.

Michael Essien's immediate return to form after a long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury has lent an extra edge to the improvements Hiddink has made, and the Blues will rightly start favourites after winning six and drawing one of their seven games with the Dutchman in charge.

But since Redknapp took charge at White Hart Lane on 26 October, Spurs have lost just one of their 16 home games in all competitions, and his team are now a very different proposition to the vulnerable side who collected only five points from seven League matches between 21 December and 31 January.

Spurs have made much of their improvement in central midfield in recent weeks, with Wilson Palacios —whose performances since his £14million move from Wigan in January have been excellent — forming an effective partnership with Jermaine Jenas during the club's five-match unbeaten run.

The presence of a revitalised Essien (left) and Frank Lampard will, however, push the Spurs duo to the limit.

Essien, who has scored in both the games he has started since regaining fitness, said: "It has been great to be back and to be scoring goals.

"It has been very a long injury, but in the end, I managed to come back. The physios and doctors did a great job on my knee.

"I knew I was going to be out for a long time, and I just took things easy and took my instructions from the doctors and the physios. Everybody was with me, including my team-mates, and it is great to be back among them and enjoying football."

"We are still in all the big competitions (the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League), so we are looking forward to the games ahead. We have to keep fighting and see what happens."

Having spent so much of the campaign at the wrong end of the table, Spurs are now only five points adrift of seventh-placed West Ham.

A top-seven finish would almost certainly mean qualification for next season's revamped Europa League, which would be a remarkable conclusion to a campaign which began with Spurs collecting only two points from their opening eight matches.

And Spurs also know they can play a crucial role in the outcome of the title race. After taking on Chelsea tomorrow, Redknapp's team face Manchester United at Old Trafford on 25 April, before taking on Liverpool at Anfield on the final day of the season.

Spurs — then managed by Juande Ramos — drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge last August, but Redknapp knows the threat carried by Hiddink's team is greater and is considering switching to a 4-5-1 formation, with Didier Zokora joining Jenas and Palacios in midfield.

Redknapp said: "They have such a strong squad, and they have started to get their key players back, which is what it's all about.

"At the start of the season, they beat my Portsmouth team 4-0 at Stamford Bridge, and I couldn't see how anyone was going to stop them winning the title.

"But injuries have made it more difficult for them. It is lucky for them that Frank Lampard has been able to stay fit, because he is such an outstanding player for them."