Everton vs Spurs Preview

Article by Jimmie Lyden

In my opinion, one of the most difficult matches in the season awaits Spurs on Sunday when we travel to Goodison Park to face Roberto Martinez’s Everton side. Everton have amassed 18 points from 9 games and have only suffered one defeat away to Manchester City (nothing to be ashamed of) in the league so far under Martinez’s tenure. This also means they have yet to be defeated at Goodison, winning their last three home games on the bounce against sides like Chelsea and Newcastle. They have also drawn the joint most games (3 with Southampton) out of any team in the top half of the table, meaning that they will be a tough side to break down. However, our away record is pretty good, picking up 9 points out of a possible 12 so far with only the derby defeat to Arsenal as the blemish in our record.

Everton team news:

Striker Arouna Kone is ruled out of Sunday's visit of Tottenham with a knee injury which is giving Everton manager Roberto Martinez some cause for concern whilst defender John Heitinga returns to the squad after sitting out the last two matches with a muscle problem. Fellow centre-back Antolin Alcaraz is recovering well from a hernia injury and is expected to make his debut later this month while midfielder Darron Gibson (knee) is the only other absentee.

Provisional squad: Howard, Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Mirallas, McCarthy, Barry, Pienaar, Barkley, Lukaku, Robles, Heitinga, Oviedo, Stones, Naismith, Osman, Jelavic, Deulofeu.

Now, out of that talented provisional squad, the star men would be Howard, Jagielka, Baines and Lukaku. Spurs will need to be at their best to especially stop the stocky Belgian running riot at Goodison. Lukaku has a massive point to prove against AVB, considering how last year he stated he would “never forgive” the Portuguese manager for supposedly ostracising him when he signed him from Anderlecht in the summer. AVB has attempted to mend fences this week by tipping Lukaku for greatness but I’m sure Lukaku would still love to get one over his old manager who “never gave him a chance.”

The likes of Kevin Mirallas and Steven Pienaar (old boy alert) always provide a dazzling threat from the wings which Kyle Walker and makeshift Left Back Jan Vertonghen or Kyle Naughton will need to combat so that they don’t send in the aerial balls Lukaku loves to feed off. Everton have good young talent in their squad as well, with James McCarthy, Ross Barkley and Gerard Deulofeu earning praise for their performances this season so it will be a tough side that Spurs will need to break down, whoever Martinez chooses to start on Sunday.

Tottenham team news:

Defender Danny Rose has still not recovered from a foot injury and will miss Tottenham's game at Everton on Sunday. Full-back Kyle Naughton has a 50 per cent chance of playing after suffering a thigh injury against Hull on Wednesday in the Capital One Cup. Winger Nacer Chadli (hamstring), striker Emmanuel Adebayor (foot) and defender Zeki Fryers (groin) are out, but winger Andros Townsend is fit after recovering from his nasty fall in last weekend's victory over Hull.

Provisional squad: Lloris, Friedel, Gomes, Walker, Naughton, Chiriches, Dawson, Vertonghen, Paulinho, Dembele, Sandro, Holtby, Bentaleb, Lennon, Lamela, Eriksen, Townsend, Sigurdsson, Defoe, Soldado, Kane.

As I am sure every Spurs fan feels, I am so relieved Andros Townsend has been passed as fit to play this game as we will need his blistering pace in order to challenge Leighton Baines or Seamus Coleman at full back. I have to admit, even though he does it well, I’m not a fan of playing Jan Vertonghen at left back as I believe it is a waste of his considerable talents in the centre of defence but I have still yet to be fully convinced that Kyle Naughton is anything but a lower Premier league level player so maybe it could be the lesser of two evils.

The big question is, Holtby or Eriksen? Despite his impressive start, the Dane has gone pretty anonymous over his last couple of games whilst the German/English hybrid has seen his stock rise after a few impressive performances that look like he is starting to justify the hype that saw him labelled a future Germany star. Holtby had a slow start to his Spurs career as he needed time to adapt to the league so Eriksen needs the same few months that Holtby had to get to grips with the pace and power of the league so it will be interesting to see who AVB chooses to fill the coveted No.10 role for the lilywhites on Sunday.

Whatever sides both managers pick, I believe the clash on Sunday will be tight and too close to be decisive. AVB and Martinez have both earned praise for the way their sides have started the season so it will be a tactical battle between two young and extremely talented managers. Everton have taken 28 points from their last 10 PL matches whilst, interestingly, Spurs have yet to concede a goal to a non London side this year in the league and have only conceded one goal away from home so no doubt this match will be a fierce contest. I am going to go for a 1-1 draw, with Lukaku netting for Everton and Soldado scoring for Spurs but every player will need to sharp in front of goal and hopefully Spurs will come out on top against one of the dark horses for Champions League qualification this year.

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