Tottenham v Chelsea: Juan Mata warns his team-mates about the threat of Spurs striker Roberto Soldado

Roberto Soldado has scored three goals in his first two matches for Tottenham (GETTY IMAGES)

Chelsea’s Juan Mata has warned his Chelsea team-mates to beware the threat of Roberto Soldado, his former Valencia team-mate who will lead the Tottenham attack in the early kick-off on Saturday.

Soldado, who joined Spurs for £26m in the summer, has already scored four goals this season, and Mata said: “‪I know Soldado very well. He scored a lot of goals when I played with him in Valencia and he will score a lot of goals for Tottenham. He is the striker that will play the most often there and Tottenham has the right players on the wing and in the No 10 position to provide him with the right assists to score a lot. There is only one way to stop him - don't let him touch the ball because if you do, especially in the box, it's probably going to be a goal.”

Mata said he thought Spurs would be a force in the Premier League despite the loss of Gareth Bale. ”I think a team that has Gareth Bale is a better team, but Tottenham still have ‪enough to be in the top four. They have a very good squad. They have signed good players like my friend Soldado. But it’s not easy. There are four or five other teams fighting for the same thing. We have a big squad now as well. Two or three good teams are going to be out of the Champions League. They may not deserve it but they will be out. I think they will fight until the end because they have the quality to be there.”