Tottenham take on Wolves in north London on Saturday afternoon hoping to avenge their last-gasp defeat in the reverse fixture.
Spurs were meandering towards all three points in their November meeting before the hosts struck twice at the death to steal all three points. That defeat ignited a woeful run of form for the Lilywhites – from which they’ve since recovered.
Ange Postecoglou’s side certainly haven’t played their best stuff over the past month despite several key players returning from injury, but they’re nonetheless in a strong position in the context of the top four race.
Wolves, meanwhile, have exceeded expectations under Gary O’Neil and are primed for a comfortable mid-table finish. They’ve stunned a couple of the big boys this term, but were beaten 2-0 by Brentford at Molineux last weekend.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Saturday’s Premier League clash.
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Son Heung-min, Yves Bissouma, and Pape Matar Sarr have all returned from international duty, with the latter scoring Tottenham’s equaliser against Brighton last time out. All three are in contention to start on Saturday.
Spurs could also welcome Giovani Lo Celso back to the fold this weekend, but Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie have been ruled out.
Manor Solomon should also be back in action soon following a lengthy layoff, with Ryan Sessegnon also sidelined.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Wolves (4-3-3): Vicario; Emerson, Romero, Van de Ven, Davies; Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son.
Wolves were dealt a huge blow last weekend when Matheus Cunha limped off with a hamstring injury. O’Neil has since described the injury as “significant”, with the Brazilian expected to miss a big chunk of the remainder of the season.
On a brighter note, O’Neil should welcome Hwang Hee-Chan to his matchday squad and the South Korean could replace Cunha in the starting XI.
Wolves predicted lineup vs Tottenham (3-5-2): Sa; Kilman, Dawson, Toti; Semedo, Lemina, Gomes, Doyle, Ait-Nouri; Neto, Hwang.
Pragmatist O’Neil will surely aim to get an early strike on Saturday by pressing high and pinching possession off Spurs during the build-up phase. Both Everton and Brighton have had success against the Lilywhites in recent weeks.
Wolves will also pose a threat from set-pieces, and an early goal will be key to their chances of getting a result.
Tottenham, however, will have their strongest XI available this weekend, with the return of sharpshooter Son pivotal. Postecoglou will want to oversee a clean technical performance that’ll allow the hosts to control and dominate proceedings.
This Spurs side rarely does things the easy way, though, and they could be forced to grind out another three points on home soil.
