Video: What happened when Romero last came up against Romelu Lukaku

Tottenham fans do not have too many reasons for optimism going into the London derby against Chelsea on Sunday.

After a good start to the season, Tottenham have struggled in their last two matches, being thrashed 3-0 by Crystal Palace last weekend and playing out a 2-2 draw against Rennes in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.

In contrast, Chelsea have started the season like a well-oiled machine, with new signing Romelu Lukaku hitting the ground running on his return to Stamford Bridge.

To make matter’s worse, Nuno Espirito Santo has a number of injuries to contend with, with question marks over the fitness of Eric Dier, Son Heung-min, Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura.

With Cristian Romero, Davinson Sanchez and Giovani Lo Celso set to return from Croatia on Saturday, Nuno may not have much choice but to throw a couple of them straight into the mix against Chelsea.

One thing Spurs fans can take heart from is the fact that Romero appeared to pocket Lukaku when Inter Milan took on Atalanta back in March.

According to Sky Sports, even though Inter emerged 1-0 winners from the match, Lukaku lost possession 26 times – his highest tally of the season.

Romero put in a typically combative display and got the better of the Belgian in several duals last season. Spurs fans will be hoping the Argentine puts in a similar display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and manages to keep the Chelsea man quiet.

Watch Romero’s individual performance against Lukaku’s Inter back in March:

Spurs Web Opinion

The one thing you can be assured of with a Sanchez-Romero partnership at the back is that neither one of them are going to be bullied physically by Lukaku.

However, both players can be too aggressive at times and it could be a struggle if one of them picks up a booking early in the game.

For that reason, I would be a lot calmer if Dier is fit to partner one of Sanchez or Romero on Sunday.

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