LONDON (AFP) - Jose Mourinho gets his first taste of a London derby on Sunday and Chelsea's new boss has his sights set firmly on stopping Tottenham's unexpectedly strong start to the season in its tracks.
Spurs have not won at Stamford Bridge since 1990, but Mourinho insists that such statistics are meaningless to him.
"For me football is not superstition nor statistics," the Portuguese coach said. "I think we should win on Sunday because we are playing fantastic football at the moment with a lot of confidence and happiness. So we cannot be afraid of this derby, we have to play to win.
"History or statistics, or superstition for some, you have to forget because they dont win matches."
Such ardent rationalism does not prevent Mourinho from understanding how much local derbies can mean to fans.
"All my life I have played classics," he said. "When I was an assistant manager I had beautiful games like Barcelona v Real Madrid. Later as a head coach in Portugal, Benfica and Porto is an amazing game. So I know what they mean.
"They mean the points because everybody needs the points to achieve good positions in the Championship but it means a little bit more than that. It means a special happiness for the supporters because it is a special feeling."
Mourinho believes his side have the experience to cope with the unbeaten visitors but he admits to having been impressed with their start to the season under former France manager Jacques Santini and technical director Frank Arnesen.
"They are a very compact team. They defend very well and they are dangerous because they have some fast and quality players up front. So I am waiting for a difficult match."
Sunday's clash will bring Chelsea's former Porto players -- Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira -- up against another veteran of the side that lifted the Champions League last season, Pedro Mendes.
"He is never the best player on the pitch but he is always the best man for his manager because he is the perfect tactical player," Mourinho said of his former player. "I think I am a bit guilty for this and now he is playing against me!"
The admiration is mutual. Mendes describes Mourinho as a "fantastic person and a fantastic coach" and is resigned to the fact that Chelsea's players will have been fully briefed on his new club's strengths and weaknesses.
"For sure he will know our team perfectly at this time and will know the way we play," he said. "He will work with his team this week to play against us.
"The players like playing for him and he communicates very well and gives a lot of confidence. It is a very good relationship he has with players so it is normal that his teams almost always win because of that relationship - it shows on the pitch."
Mourinho has a virtually full strength squad to choose from with only long-term casualties Arjen Robben and Carlo Cudicini unavailable. Eidur Gudjohnsen is available despite needing eight stitches in a head wound incurred in the 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital in midweek.
Spurs will be without recent signing Michael Carrick because of an ankle injury, increasing the chances that Wales international Simon Davies could start for the first time this season.