Barclays Premier League
Venue: White Hart Lane Date: Sunday, 12 December Kick-off: 1600 GMT
Coverage: Watch live on Sky Sports 1 and highlights on Match of the Day 2; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles

Terry knows Chelsea need to quickly improve

Chelsea captain John Terry has warned his side that they need to get back to winning ways or face being left behind in the Premier League title race.

The Blues have dropped to third in the Premier League after one win in six ahead of playing Tottenham on Sunday.

"Hopefully, this will be the end of our blip otherwise teams are going to pull away," Terry told the Chelsea website.

"We need to go on a good run and now would be perfect with Spurs, Manchester United and Arsenal coming up."

He added: "We've got big players here who are hopefully prepared to rise to the challenge and put their neck on the line."

Chelsea's poor league form started when they were beaten at Liverpool and, despite a win over Fulham, they have also lost to Sunderland and Birmingham as well as being held to draws by Newcastle and Everton.

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They are now two points behind leaders Arsenal and one point behind United, who have a game in hand, with fifth-placed Spurs four points adrift of them.

"It's not a crisis at all at the moment, we're still in with a shout of the Premier League and we've just topped our Champions League group," said centre-back Terry.

"Early on in the season we were playing very well and if we can get that form back, with other teams slipping up, everyone dropping points, we can pull away from teams again.

"Nothing has changed on the squad basis, it's just about staying together and staying confident.

"The players need to realise if we don't start soon we're going to give it away to Manchester United, who are not playing well at the moment, or to Arsenal, who are not playing well at the moment.

"I don't think anyone can say they're playing well, the good thing is we're not out of it."

And manager Carlo Ancelotti has admitted the next three games will define Chelsea's bid to retain the title.

"Our aim is these three games against Spurs, Man Utd and Arsenal. Our destiny is in these games," said Ancelotti.

"We have skill and ability to fight for the title. We want to use the game against Spurs to move on. I don't know if it is possible but we will do our best."

The Italian added: "We have to do everything to move on quickly because the team is unhappy at this moment.

"They are working hard to move on. The easy things are difficult at this moment, but we don't have to lose confidence.

"We have to stay calm, don't be afraid. It always happens that you have a bad moment in football."

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is also hopeful the Blues can end their bad run by winning at White Hart Lane.

These three games are not coming at the right time for us, but maybe these matches will change the situation we're in now if we win them Chelsea striker Didier Drogba

"Maybe everyone will expect us to lose on Sunday, but it could be different," said the the Ivorian international.

Despite his defiant message, however, Drogba deemed fifth-placed Spurs to be "genuine title rivals now".

"They are having a good season and there is no reason why they can't challenge," said Drogba. "Chelsea used to beat them regularly but things change, that's life, but it is up to us to make it happen again."

Over the last 10 seasons, Chelsea have won 15 of the 26 encounters between the two sides in all competitions, compared to Spurs' five victories.

However, since the 2007/08 season, Spurs have edged the head-to-head - winning three of the seven clashes, with the Blues victorious in two.

The north London outfit edged the last of those meetings - a 2-1 home triumph thanks to first-half goals from Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale.

Chelsea will again be without injured England midfielder Frank Lampard for the game against Spurs but, with United and Arsenal to play, the 32-year-old returning would add a much-needed goal threat to a Chelsea side with three goals in their last six league outings.

"Obviously, these three games are not coming at the right time for us, but maybe these matches will change the situation we're in now if we win them," added Drogba

"It's not finished yet. It's a difficult moment for us, but this is the kind of thing that can happen to many teams and it's rare for Chelsea to have a period like this and I hope it's going to get better."

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