Tottenham Hotspur face Everton in the Premier League this weekend
Tottenham travel to Merseyside for their matchday 22 clash in the Premier League against Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, January 19th at 14:00 UK time. The Lilywhites have won just one game in the English top flight since the start of December and after their most recent defeat against Arsenal, the pressure is starting to mount on Ange Postecoglou.
The Toffees come into the game placed 16th in the league standings and are winless in their last five Premier League outings, the latest of which ended in a defeat versus Aston Villa. They will look to make the most of their home advantage, however, against a depleted Spurs side, which could make this an extremely feisty encounter.
Team News
Everton
Everton have no suspension problems coming into the game but are likely to be without six players due to injury problems in their camp. Armando Broja, Dwight McNeil, James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam and Youssef Chermiti will certainly miss out, while there are also doubts regarding Seamus Coleman’s participation due to his ongoing muscular issues, albeit minor.
Dwight McNeil’s absence will prove particularly important for Sunday’s hosts as he has scored three times for them in the league so far this season. Meanwhile, the Toffees might not be able to do much offensively either owing to their recent struggles, so David Moyes will hope that his robust defensive low block does its job against a Tottenham side that has a lot to play for.
PREDICTED EVERTON XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Mangala, Gueye; Harrison, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Calvert-Lewin
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur’s injury problems are showing no signs of slowing down with Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Timo Werner and Wilson Odobert expected to miss out. Fraser Forster is ill, so he could make the cut if he is able to recover in time and complete Saturday’s training session.
Antonin Kinsky could be tasked with a role between the sticks once more, whereas the back four is likely to see Archie Gray and Djed Spence feature as well. Further ahead, there are unlikely to be many rotations although there could be a start for James Maddison, the top goal-getter for Tottenham in the Premier League, in the engine room.
PREDICTED TOTTENHAM XI (4-3-3): Kinsky; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Kulusevski, Sarr, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Match-deciding duel
Ashley Young vs Son Heung-min
It is high time that Son Heung-min starts rediscovering his form after a terrible start to the season compared to his lofty standards. The South Korean’s performance against Everton could go a long way in determining Ange Postecoglou’s future at the club if the rumours regarding his firing subject to the result are to be believed.
Son will face one of the Premier League’s oldest fullbacks in Ashley Young down his side and will have the chance to make the left flank his own by starting the game on a good note. That’s not to say he will be able to be all over Young, who has made his experience talk several times lately and has the ability to raid down Everton’s right and make the difference offensively too.
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Prediction
Everton 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur could effectively be playing for Ange Postecoglou’s future and might respond to the challenge in a brilliant way as David Moyes still looks to get to know this Everton team better. Spurs should be able to overcome the Toffees’ challenge in a hard-fought battle at Goodison Park with their manager living to fight another day.
