The Blues go into the fixture, which kicks off at 12.30pm, unbeaten in three Premier League matches. Our west London neighbours, in contrast, have won just twice in the top flight this term.

One of those victories came last weekend against Burnley, and Pochettino highlighted in his pre-match press conference the varied threat Thomas Frank's side can pose.

'It is going to be a tough game because they are a very good team,' the Chelsea head coach said. 'I think they are a very tough team to play against.

'They use two different formations, sometimes they play with 4-3-3, sometimes it is 5-3-2. So we'll see. We're ready to face a very good team with good players. It is a nice challenge for us.'

Pochettino will be without a handful of players for the game due to injury and the Argentine confirmed Reece James is not yet ready to start despite the club captain returning against Arsenal.

‘Reece is still not ready to start,' the Chelsea head coach explained. 'He is doing well, has been training really well. He is really close but tomorrow he is going to be on the bench.’

During the early weeks of the campaign, our results were not reflective of our performances. That has changed over the past month with victories secured against Brighton in the Carabao Cup and Fulham and Burnley in the Premier League.

Our display in last weekend's 2-2 draw with Arsenal was another indiction of the progress being made under Pochettino. Yet the Chelsea head coach is adamant there is far more to come.

'We talk about results and performances, but we still need to improve,' he said. 'We need to recover all our players [from injury] as, from the beginning, that hasn't helped to improve all the areas in the way we want.

'But we are building a strong team, the mentality is there, is much, much better. We are happy with the way we are evolving from day one but we are still far away from what we expect from our team and from us.

'We are Chelsea and we know our responsibilities are massive, and it is to win.’

Two players whose form has noticeably improved alongside our results are Marc Cucurella and Mykhailo Mudryk.

The former impressed in an unfamiliar right-back role prior to the international break and was excellent against Arsenal at left-back. The latter, meanwhile, struck his first Chelsea goal against Fulham and followed that up with a wonderful chip against the Gunners.

‘This is what we expect from our players,' said Pochettino. 'Attitude is the most important thing and always being available to deliver what we expect.

'Without the right attitude it is impossible to perform. So I’m happy for the whole team because it is showing a great attitude.’

Our upturn in form has coincided with the inclusion of Cole Palmer in the attack. The England Under-21 international's intelligent use of the ball and understanding of space has been combined with unerring accuracy from the penalty spot.

Palmer netted from 12 yards against Burnley and repeated the trick against Arsenal. Yet Pochettino will not bestow penalty taking duties on the 21-year-old. It will be a decision left to those on the pitch.

'There are few players that can take a penalty, it is about their feeling,' explained the Chelsea boss. 'We as a coaching staff give them the possibility to decide.

'It's not only on one player or us saying, 'ok, this player is going to be in charge' because it is about the feelings inside.'

Pochettino added: 'Normally, I suppose, it is going to be him [Palmer] if he is on the pitch. If not, I am happy with Raheem [Sterling], Nico [Jackson], or all of the players.

'For me, it is most important to have the decision and the personality to go and take a penalty. You can miss, of course. There are mistakes when missing a penalty. But, for me, the most important thing is to be confident and to show the right attitude.'