The State of Play
Tottenham Hotspur boast six points from the last six available to them, backing up their resounding 4-1 triumph over Newcastle with a hard-fought 0-2 victory away at Nottingham Forest. This was despite Ange Postecoglou’s side being reduced to ten-men at the City Ground after Yves Bissouma was sent off in the second half.
However, a brilliant individual performance from Dejan Kulusevski was the standout showing in Nottingham, the attacking midfielder setting up Richarlison in first-half stoppage time, before scoring himself later on. Spurs head into this game in fifth-place just a point adrift of the top four.
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Everton’s incredible recent run of four straight Premier League wins underlines their ability and why Tottenham have a tough test on their hands here. The Toffees didn’t concede a single goal over the course of those victories, Jordan Pickford racking up four clean sheets in a row.
But Sean Dyche’s men suffered heartbreak in midweek, losing on penalties to Fulham in their Carabao Cup quarter-final clash, extending their long wait for a major trophy. They had the chance to win it from the spot, but Amadou Onana saw his tame spot kick saved.
Team News
Suspensions will force Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou into making changes to his starting line-up with both left-back Destiny Udogie and midfielder Bissouma missing for that reason. However, both Brennan Johnson and Giovani Lo Celso have been confirmed as fit and available, with Johnson expected to be feature in an attacking midfield three alongside Heung-Min Son and Kulusevski.
Everton were handed a huge boost by the news that left-back Vitalii Mykolenko is available for this game, with the Ukrainian expected to come straight back into the starting line-up. Fellow full-back Seamus Coleman though, is less likely to feature, while midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure is missing through an injury sustained last weekend away at Burnley.
Expected Line-ups
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Davies, Royal; Sarr, Hojbjerg; Johnson, Kulusevski, Son; Richarlison
Everton: Pickford; Patterson, Godfrey, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Harrison, Onana, Garner, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin
What they Said
Postecoglou on his side’s recent disciplinary record: “It is something that is not great for us because it’s costing us during games, costing us after games. But the players are well aware of the impact of those things. My experience in football is that the best remedy for those kinds of things is players missing out and feeling like they’re missing out on something brings them back into line quickly.”
Dyche on Postecoglou’s will to win at Spurs: “He said recently about playing well but they weren’t winning and they had a tough spell. He said it’s about winning. He doesn’t want to be known for how he plays, he wants to win. I’m refreshed by that attitude, that’s for sure. That seems like my type of guy. We’ll see. Maybe we’ll crack a cold one open.”
When and How to Watch
The game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will kick off at the traditional time of 15:00 on Saturday and will not be shown live in the UK
Prediction
As strong as Everton have been defensively over the past few weeks, they are yet to face an opponent of Tottenham’ quality offensively, the hosts having scored at least once in all 17 league games they have competed in this season. Postecoglou’s men have clearly gotten over their recent slump in results, winning two in a row leading into this match and confidence within their camp must be high.
Expect Everton to struggle containing Spurs’ relentless attacking style of play and Doucoure’s absence in central midfield won’t help them on that front. Across 90 minutes, Tottenham should prove too strong, ultimately winning 2-0.