Tottenham Face Sternest Test Yet After Success in Azerbaijan

Tottenham Hotspur have made a habit of clearing hurdles, passing tests and proving the critics wrong this season.  

Harry Kane's decisive goal in the 1-0 win over Qarabag on Thursday secured their place in the knockout rounds of the Europa League, and it was the latest in a string of results that appear to indicate Spurs have moved into a new era.

In the recent past, a tricky away tie in Europe would likely have got the better of them. 

Just last season, Spurs travelled to Istanbul with a chance to clinch top place in their group but ignominiously fell to a 1-0 defeat against Besiktas. 

On that day, Mousa Dembele's Tottenham career seemed over, but he is now so important he wasn't even risked against Qarabag. 

Manager Mauricio Pochettino made a statement with his team selection for the penultimate group-stage fixture by choosing to rest only a handful of first-team players. 

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He took a young squad to Azerbaijan but the lineup that took to the field bore a striking resemblance to his strongest side. 

It was a bold move, setting out to secure qualification with one game remaining, but the Argentinian was rewarded with a solid performance and the result he had sought. 

Spurs will meet Monaco on Dec. 10 with a chance to secure top spot, but first comes a major test of their progress. 

Chelsea have been Tottenham's bete noire in the Premier League era. 

Even before the injection of Roman Abramovich's billions, the Blues routinely handed Spurs painful defeats. 

Victories haven't been entirely elusive in recent years—last season's 5-3 win stands out—but Chelsea have often beaten them when it matters. 

Pochettino has moulded his team into a reliable, tough outfit. 

They've outplayed Arsenal and Manchester City and gone toe-to-toe with Liverpool and Manchester United. 

Spurs have risen up the table while Chelsea have struggled. 

The defending champions are 15th, trailing Spurs by 10 points. 

However, there have though been hints at recovery. 

Jose Mourinho's men have beaten both Norwich City and Maccabi Tel Aviv in their last two fixtures. Neither side is a world-beater, but those results will be palliative to a confidence-shorn Chelsea. 

Were Chelsea to make it three wins on the bounce with a victory at White Hart Lane, their hopes of salvaging their Premier League campaign would be boosted. 

It is vital to Spurs' own aspirations they strangle the infant in the cradle. 

Pochettino has said that it is "too early" to consider his team contenders for the league title. 

However, there is no doubting they are in the hunt for a Champions League place. 

With Arsenal and the two Manchester clubs more or less guaranteed to fill three of the four places available to Premier League sides, Chelsea's slow start has given Spurs a rare opportunity. 

Tottenham's habit of losing games they should win is so well established the term "Spursy" exists in the online Urban Dictionary. 

Roy Keane's revelation in his most recent autobiography, The Second Half (h/t the Guardian), that legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson's pre-match team talk before a game against Spurs simply consisted of "lads, it's Tottenham" underlines that reputation. 

The arrival of Chelsea on Sunday lunchtime is an opportunity to prove that reputation is no longer applicable. 

It is a chance to demonstrate the hard-won progress that has been made under Pochettino's instruction.

Not only can Spurs show they must be considered among the league's elite teams, but it is also an opportunity to put their proverbial boot on Chelsea's throat.

It is a rare opportunity, and it is one that cannot be wasted. 

The 5-3 win last season came with neither the same pressures nor with the same potential rewards. 

Victory in this potentially seismic fixture could lift Spurs into the top four, even just one point short of top spot, and it would move the Blues even further away from the Champions League places. 

Chelsea have been a shadow of the side that romped to last season's title in this campaign despite the presence of many of the same players.

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By contrast, Spurs are a far better and more rounded group and should be full of confidence with the momentum of a 12-game unbeaten run in the league. 

If they wilt under the pressure, it will be an immense disappointment. But there is no reason to think they cannot defeat Chelsea and take a hugely symbolic leap forward.