IAN KINGTON/AFP/GettyImagesChelsea fans will be hoping its ex-manager Andre Villas-Boas has no cause to celebrate with his new club on Saturday.

This weekend Chelsea travels across the capital to take on Tottenham; in the process, the Blues enter a crucial mini-phase of the season that will provide the greatest indicator yet as to what might we can expect from this campaign.

The match marks the beginning of an 11-day period that will see the Blues tested on multiple fronts: a difficult trip to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League then precedes the Premier League and Capital One Cup double header against Manchester United. Oh, and they will embark on this phase without the suspended John Terry. As such, the Blues' excellent start to the season will be cast into a truer light by the end of October and we will have a better idea of whether glory really is beckoning or if we should be re-calibrating our expectations once more.

Although Arsenal has already been swatted aside, Saturday's game will provide a different kind of test for Roberto Di Matteo's men. The memories of Chelsea's imperious unbeaten run over their local rivals that appeared to last a lifetime (it was actually 16 years) ended controversially in North London back in 2006; while an inherent reflex is to assume that a trip to "Three Point Lane" will yield an inevitable victory, recent history suggests that it is easier said than done. Since that 2-1 defeat, Chelsea has failed to win any of its league meetings there; that said, there was a wonder-strike from Andrei Shevchenko that earned the Blues a win in an FA Cup replay.

The atmosphere is always raucous in this fixture given the home team's permanently high tempo -- as such Chelsea must impose its identity on proceedings if it is to emerge victorious.

Tottenham's most obvious threat is Gareth Bale who has been in exquisite form this season as highlighted by his quite stupendous winner for Wales against Scotland last Friday. I would assume that Di Matteo will stick to his modus operandi and deploy Branislav Ivanovic at right back to keep tabs on the flying winger, hoping that the Serb can use his physicality and positional sense to thwart the Welshman's forward thrusts. However, while risky, it would not be a total surprise to see Cesar Azpilicueta make his first league start in an attempt to deal with Bale's pace. It would be a huge match in which to blood the Spaniard but having thrown Ryan Bertrand into the cauldron of the Champions League final, Di Matteo has shown himself fearless in the face of potentially questionable selections.

With Aaron Lennon showing some of the form on the opposite flank that saw him become a permanent fixture of the England team a couple of years ago, width will be an intriguing game within the game. After all, Spurs opts to use those avenues frequently while Chelsea prefers to work things through the middle with their trio of dashing playmakers, Juan Mata, Oscar and Eden Hazard.

The contrast in systems -- both of which are intent on attack – promises a wealth of goalscoring opportunities and the team that demonstrates the greater ruthlessness in the penalty area will emerge with the spoils.

But the sub-plot that will almost certainly dominate the headlines will be the prospect of Andre Villas-Boas facing his former employers for the first time and pitting his wits against his former number assistant.

No doubt he will be sufficiently motivated to prove Roman Abramovich wrong but I hope that he isn't given too torrid a time by the visiting fans. Yes, he clearly made a number of key errors during his time at Stamford Bridge -- specifically his treatment of players (see: his alienation of the senior players following his dismissal of Nicolas Anelka and Alex).

Addtionally, his refusal to show flexibility in his tactics despite the irrefutable evidence of their failure was also incredibly frustrating, yet the feeling prevails that AVB was the simply right man at the wrong time for Chelsea. The mandate he was given was wrong for a person of his inexperience, while the magnitude of the task at hand would have tested the most seasoned of managers. Yes, he had to be given the bullet but personally, I hold no grudges.

Having said that, it would be galling to see him grinning at 3pm on Saturday. It would also be arrogant to say that a win is expected (a draw would certainly suffice), but the confidence that is growing amongst the players with each passing game and the invention and style exuded by Oscar, Mata and Hazard should decide the game in Chelsea's favour if they play at their peak.

Just as long as Bale and Lennon are kept in check.

Follow Phil Lythell on Twitter @PhilLythell

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