Tottenham Hotspur – Everton

Posted Sunday, February 28, 2010 by Goal.com

Spurs have come unstuck at home against Toffees for past three seasons.

Kick-Off: Sunday, February 28, 2010. 13:00 GMT.
White Hart Lane, North London.

When these sides met last time out at Goodison Park, it was 16th welcoming 3rd in the Premier League. Just over two months on its 4th against 8th, and neither Tottenham Hotspur nor Everton would have complained about those positions at this stage of the season.

That match finished with a 2-2 scoreline, with the Toffees having battled back from being two goals behind, largely thanks to an inspirational performance from young full-back Seamus Coleman. Spurs could and perhaps should have won the match, with Jermain Defoe missing a stoppage time penalty.

Spurs’ start to 2010 was almost as disappointing as Everton’s start of the season; but having scored seven goals in their last two matches (having only scored three Premier League goals in 2010 prior to those fixtures) Redknapp will be much happier with his sides’ progress of late.

Everton were dumped out of the Europa League on Thursday, suffering a 3-0 defeat in Lisbon having lead the first leg after a 2-1 victory over Sporting, but a quick glance at recent results will see confidence filter back into the Toffees ranks.

After losing 1-0 to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, Everton record impressive home victories over Chelsea and Manchester United, by 2-1 and 3-1 respectively.

The Toffees have also claimed victory on their last three visits to White Hart Lane, in a fixture which tends to favors the away sides.

But Spurs are a tough nut to crack, with Heurelho Gomes having kept eight clean sheets in his last 11 League games and Everton will have to muster something special to beat the Brazilian shot-stopper.

FORM GUIDE

Tottenham Hotspur
21 Feb: Wigan 0-3 Tottenham [Premier League]
14 Feb: Bolton 1-1 Tottenham [FA Cup]
10 Feb: Wolves 1-0 Tottenham [Premier League]
6 Feb: Tottenham 0-0 Aston Villa [Premier League]
3 Feb: Leeds 1-3 Tottenham [FA Cup replay]

Everton
25 Feb: Sporting 3-0 Everton [Europa League]
20 Feb: Everton 3-1 Man United [Premier League]
16 Feb: Everton 2-1 Sporting [Europa League]
10 Feb: Everton 2-1 Chelsea [Premier League]
6 Feb: Liverpool 1-0 Everton [Premier League]

TEAM NEWS

Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Redknapp has 11 potential absentees ahead of the match against Everton, the highest in the Premier League at present, and the Spurs boss will be hoping that his squad is strong enough to cope with this worrying trend.

Having seen their training ground, Spurs Lodge, quarantined after an outbreak of a stomach virus, Redknapp will be sweating over the availability of Wilson Palacios and Vedran Corluka, with the latter having missed the midweek FA Cup match.

Top goalscorer Jermain Defoe (hamstring) and Peter Crouch (ankle) are doubts for the match, but the Spurs boss can call upon the in-form Roman Pavlyuchenko and experienced Eidur Gudjohnsen – a predicament which few managers would sympathize with.

Ledley King is set to miss out with the thigh strain picked-up against Wigan, so Sebastien Bassong or Younes Kaboul will deputize alongside Michael Dawson, whilst Jonathan Woodgate is still unavailable (groin).

Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Jermaine Jenas, and David Bentley (all groin) could also miss out, whilst Aaron Lennon remains absent with, you guessed it, a groin injury.

Goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini remains sidelined whilst he recovers from the motorcycle accident that left him with a damaged hip and two broken wrists.

Starting XI from last league match [Wigan]: Gomes, Corluka, Dawson, King, Bale, Bentley, Huddlestone, Palacios, Kranjcar, Crouch, Defoe.

Everton
The Toffees, plagued by injuries for the majority of the season, are beginning to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Philippe Senderos is set to miss out with a knee injury, while Tim Cahill (calf strain) and Marouane Fellaini (ankle) will also be unavailable for David Moyes’ side. Tony Hibbert is also a doubt for the match with a groin complaint.

Starting XI from last league match [Man United]: Howard, Baines, Heitinga, Distan, Neville, Bilyaletdinov, Donovan, Arteta, Pienaar, Osman, Saha.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Tottenham – Roman Pavlyuchenko
The Russian international has been in exceptional form since returning to first-team duties, and Harry Redknapp has hinted that Spurs’ No.9 will receive a much deserved starting birth against Everton this weekend.

Having seen his first-team appearances limited to a spot on the bench this season, Pavlyuchenko has bagged five goals in his last three appearances, including back-to-back braces against Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers.

Despite his lack of match fitness, his touch at times during the 4-0 FA Cup victory over Bolton was mesmerizing, particularly his footwork before both strikes, and the Toffees will have to watch him closely at the weekend.

Everton – Mikel Arteta
He’s Spanish, a product of the Barcelona academy and a fans' favorite – perhaps not the verses of a terrace anthem, but one thing is certain: Arteta is a class act.

It’s often said that a player could walk into any team, and few would stutter before attaching that remark to Everton’s No.10. Plagued by injury this season, the midfielder is a formidable attacking component in the Toffees side.

In 176 appearances for the club, Arteta has contributed with 21 goals and 29 assists, and Spurs will have to suppress the midfielder at the weekend, particularly any attempted through-balls to the in-form Louis Saha.

PREDICTION

The sides battled out a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park back in December, and I wouldn’t back against a similar scoreline this weekend, in fact, I’ll go for an encore.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Everton