Tottenham vs. Sunderland: Issues, Decisions That Will Shape Premier League Game
Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland meet on Saturday, both in need of a win to strengthen their different causes.
The north London club will attempt to keep up with their top-four rivals after last week's loss to Crystal Palace saw them leapfrogged by Arsenal. The 16th-place visitors from the north-east could do with a victory to pull away from the relegation zone.
In September, they drew 2-2 at the Stadium of Light. Read on for the issues and decisions to set to shape this latest Premier League encounter.
Tottenham's Character Examination Continues
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Character was the word on the lips of Tottenham's players and coaches after their comeback defeat of Burnley on Wednesday night. Two-nil down within 10 minutes, they fought back to win 4-2 and seal progress to the FA Cup fourth round.
"We showed good character," head coach Mauricio Pochettino told Spurs' official website. "It was a difficult start and important to come back into the game quickly to believe and move forward."
Goalscorer Danny Rose was in agreement, also per his club's site. "It’s a shame we gave them a two-goal head start but we showed great character to come back."
Off the back of being turned over by Crystal Palace the previous weekend, another loss (especially in those circumstances) would have been an unwelcome blow to morale.
Instead, Spurs showed plenty of fighting spirit to book their date with Leicester City. Even with eight changes made to the lineup, the win got the squad back on track ahead of Sunderland.
Spurs certainly do not want to slip up at White Hart Lane this Saturday. With due respect to the Black Cats and January 31 opponents West Bromwich Albion, positive results need to be recorded against these bottom-half sides ahead of a February schedule with big top-four ramifications.
On paper, this weekend is a winnable game, but with Sunderland just as hungry for a win, it should prove to be another character examination for Spurs.
Plenty to Call on for Pochettino in Attacking Midfield
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If the Palace loss slowed the winter productivity of Tottenham's attacking midfield, the Burnley win was a reminder of the good options at Pochettino's disposal.
Paulinho was voted man of the match by the club's supporters in one of his brightest showings for some time. Andros Townsend was a regular nuisance for the Clarets out on right wing, while in a goal-scoring display, recent full-back Danny Rose hinted his days playing left-midfield might not be over after all.
A substitute in midweek, Nacer Chadli has arguably been Spurs' best player of the fledgling 2015. Following on from his goal in the 5-3 win over Chelsea, he netted against Burnley in the original cup tie and set up Harry Kane's goal at Selhurst Park.
Christian Eriksen was not in action last time but has been prominent overall. Team news had not been confirmed at the time of writing, but both PremierInjuries.com ("status: 50%") and PhysioRoom.com ("doubtful") also had Erik Lamela in with a chance of a return from injury.
Sunderland have only conceded more than once in a game thrice since the start of November, and champions Manchester City were responsible on two of those instances.
Pochettino has seen all of the aforementioned players produce for him in the same period. He has a nice selection headache in deciding who he fields against a defence which has generally proved a tough nut to crack.
EDIT: Tottenham's official website has since confirmed Lamela is still absent with a calf injury.
Sunderland Need to Reignite Vital Away Form
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Sunderland's defence—predominantly centered on veteran duo Wes Brown and John O'Shea—was a big reason behind the team's recent run of five matches without defeat on the road. The sequence ended with a 3-2 loss to Manchester City on New Year's Day.
Gus Poyet's men gave a good account of themselves at the Etihad Stadium. They were level with less than 20 minutes to go, only for Frank Lampard to quickly snatch what proved to be the winner.
Defeat to the champions is no disgrace, but Poyet will be keen to get their away day form back up to scratch as quickly as possible.
Including wins over Crystal Palace and Newcastle United here, it has made a difference to them keeping their heads above water in their ongoing battle to avoid relegation. With no wins and few signs of life at the Stadium of Light since October's 3-1 victory over Stoke City, the extra freedom from home pressure has evidently helped.
They would definitely do well to pick up a positive result this weekend.
Tottenham have not been beaten at White Hart Lane since early November. As the Sunderland website's Oscar Chamberlain also noted, the Black Cats have failed to beat Saturday's opponent in their last nine Premier League meetings.
Problems in Attack Persist for Sunderland
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Creditable as Sunderland's defensive work has been at times (which was not so much in the early going of last week's 1-0 loss to Liverpool), the flip side has been a largely impotent attack.
Bleacher Report guest columnist Jonathan Wilson believes the arrival of former-Spur Jermain Defoe—who has signed, per Sunderland's official website—will help, but is unlikely to solve all the north-east club's attacking problems.
"Can Jermain Defoe solve goal-shy Sunderland’s issues? @jonawils is not convinced. http://t.co/MDbGigGOW2 pic.twitter.com/2ugR4A5DPH
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) January 15, 2015"
Partly rooted in the departures of important contributors from last season like Fabio Borini, Jack Colback and Ki Sung-Yueng, players who were in large part responsible for the team's creativity. Wilson writes those who remained and were added have not sufficiently compensated: "If anything, the squad this season is weaker than it was last."
Top-scorer Adam Johnson has just five goals to his name, and out-and-out striker Steven Fletcher only four. The momentum Connor Wickham looked to be building late in the last campaign has not really carried over.
In their 2-2 draw with Tottenham in September, they only actually managed one shot on target. Their equaliser was a Harry Kane own goal.
Team news for the Spurs trip had not been confirmed at the time of writing in regards to Fletcher who has been absent through injury. Although Sunderland did confirm via their Twitter page that Defoe is eligible to make his debut.
Their captain and midfield driving force Lee Cattermole was rated as doubtful by PremierInjuries.com. With Jack Rodwell also battling for fitness and Liam Bridcutt suspended, Poyet's options when it comes to providing service for his front line could be further limited.
Sides like West Brom and Palace have successfully stifled Spurs this season. The crucial difference for those teams was they had an attacking edge which relieved their defence. Sunderland need to find one from somewhere if they are to do a similar job on the Lilywhites.
On his return to White Hart Lane, could the penalty box prowess of Defoe provide enough for his new side here?
