That was a hard fought victory for Ange Postecoglou‘s Tottenham against Brentford, one where they were tested on the defensive side of things and on the mental side of things with all the Neal Maupay antics – but more importantly for Spurs faithful, they came through. Following that Thomas Frank test, there comes a Sean Dyche one as Tottenham visit Goodison Park come the weekend eager to bolster their position in the top four in lunchtime for a clash with Everton.
Everton, who were hit with a highly controversial 10-point deduction back in November find themselves in the midst of an extended Premier League crisis with facing the possibility of another sanction in the middle of what now is a relegation battle Sean Dyche has a significant task ahead of him. In the midweek, Everton settled for a 0-0 draw away at Fulham. Having secured only one win in the last nine encounters, with the streak extending back to December 16th, they need to start going back to winning ways soon. The Blues from Merseyside also surprisingly have a tricky record at home with winning just one of their last five matches at Goodison Park, including a recent 2-1 defeat against Luton Town in the FA Cup.
Turning attention to the visitors, Tottenham swiftly returned back to winning ways in midweek and have consistently performed well this season. They would surely be aiming to secure a spot in the Champions League for the 2024 season. Breaking into the top four, The Whites from North London have experienced just two defeats in their last nine appearances across all competitions – a streak that dates back to December 7th. With a sense of opportunity this weekend, Spurs will be buoyed by their recent success against Everton, who they defeated in a 2-1 game when Everton visited north London for their reverse Premier League encounter on December 23rd. And adding to the motivation, Tottenham Hotspur have taken ten points against Everton in last four fixtures and are unbeaten in last 6 games against them.
WHEN & WHERE?
Date: Saturday, 3rd February 2024.
Venue: Goodison Park, Merseyside
Time: 12:30 HRS GMT.
MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee: Michael Oliver.
Assistants: Dan Cook, Wade Smith.
Fourth official: Andy Madley.
VAR: Stuart Attwell.
Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard.
TEAM NEWS
EVERTON
Facing another setback due to injury Abdoulaye Doucoure is expected to continue serving the sidelines after missing out on Everton’s last three matches.
Seamus Coleman, the veteran defender, is also unlikely to be part of the squad this weekend.
Although coming in with a bit of delight despite the recent disappointment at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Senegal, 34-year-old Idrissa Gueye may come back into the fold for Dyche.
TOTTENHAM
Yves Bissouma will be continue to be unavailable this weekend as he is still away with Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Heung-Min Son is busy leading South Korea’s charge in the Asia Cup, remains absent as well.
KEY PLAYERS
RICHARLISON
Richarlison made a significant impact in the last encounter against his former team, opening the scoring for Tottenham. Moreover he has impressively found the back of the net six times in his last eight appearances across all competitions.
Something has clicked for the Brazilian, he is starting to get into more aggressive spaces and continually making those darting runs while always being a presence in order to track back as well as drop back in both defensive as well as attacking sequences respectively.
Him coming up against Jarrad Branthwaite will be a battle that will come pivotal, as Branthwaite has played am integral role in Everton’s defensive setup this season – however, his impactful contributions have occasionally led him to cross the line, accumulating a team-high six yellow cards in the current campaign and knowing how good Richarlison is good at capitalising on card situations it should be an interesting battle.
TIMO WERNER
Timo is taking up spaces on the left, more of an inverted winger esque but his contributions have come quite effective for Tottenham. This is a role he played at RB Leipzig under tutelage of Marco Rose. Following a tally of three assists in three games, he spoke about his love for assists (as much as goals) – “That was exactly what I told the manager when he called me… I told him, I love to do assist as well.”
He has been countlessly making runs up and down the wing helping the team pretty selflessly and has had a massive impact since signing for Spurs.
Following his performance against Everton, Ange Postecoglou was full of praise for Timo Werner: “I thought he was great. First half we probably didn’t support him enough in that left channel, he was a little bit isolated. Second half we got some better service to him. He’s a quality player, I think he’s proven at this level, and as he gets stronger and fitter and understands our game a little bit better, I think he’ll become even more effective, and I know there’s goals in him as well that will come for Tottenham, so I thought he was good.”
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Everton: Pickford, Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski, Godfrey, Danjuma, Garner, McNeil, Young, Harrison, Calvert-Lewin
Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Brennan, Maddison, Werner, Richarlison