Tottenham no longer fear Chelsea, says Dier

Tottenham are a better side for last season’s League Cup final defeat to Chelsea, according to defender Eric Dier.

Dier and Co. lost 2-0 against Chelsea at Wembley in March and host their London rivals on Saturday in the Premier League.

England international Dier insists the team are now better prepared following the experience and no longer fear the embattled English champions.

“I personally learnt a lot that day and I think everyone else did,” he said.

“They were very impressive that day because I think we were the better side but they just knew how to win.

“You could tell they had a lot of experienced players who have played a lot of games and won a lot of trophies and they knew how to win, to grind out a result.

“But I think we’ve proved that we learnt from that this season and we’ve ground out results like the one at Qarabag [1-0 on Thursday].”

Tottenham are unbeaten since the opening day of the season and sit fifth in the table, two points from the top four.

Dier believes Tottenham’s impressive form can be attributed to hard work away from competition.

“The key is to do everything right behind closed doors,” he said. “We need to eat well, sleep well, recover and do the right things.

“We have great facilities so need to use them. If we do everything right then we will be ready for Sunday.”

The 21-year-old centre-back will have to contend with the physical battle of Diego Costa this weekend but said he will not try to get under the Spaniard’s skin.

“You just don’t get involved with him,” he added. “I think he feeds off it and it helps him so the best thing to do is worry about playing your own game.

“These are the best games to play in and we are looking forward to it. The fans are too so hopefully we can give them something to be happy about.”