Stoke City vs. Tottenham: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream and TV Info

Tottenham's trip to Stoke is a chance to reinforce their hold on sixth place and force fifth-placed Liverpool to match their result when they travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday. 

Spurs were stunned in the reverse fixture this season when Bojan Krkic and Jon Walters gave the Potters an early 2-0 lead. Nacer Chadli brought Spurs back into the match with a neat volley, but they were unable to force an equaliser and slipped to a second consecutive home defeat. 

Stoke sit where they always seem to be: 10th in the Premier League and neither in danger of relegation nor of threatening the European places. They have achieved their objective of survival for another year and will have little motivation going into this fixture. 

Team News

Mousa Dembele and Andros Townsend are back in the frame for Spurs' trip this weekend. 

For Stoke, Marc Muniesa is back from injury and played an hour for the Potters' under-21s on Monday. 

Predicted Formations 

Spurs rarely change their formation and will almost certainly be deployed in the same 4-2-3-1 system that has featured in most of their matches this season. 

Stoke's 4-4-2 is more flexible than it appears, and Jon Walters and Marko Arnautovic will drop deep when the Potters lose possession. 

 

Form Lines

Stoke have won just one of their last seven Premier League matches. It is likely no coincidence that their brilliant late-winter form (collecting 16 points from a possible 21 from January to March) dissipated once they reached the probable survival point of 42. 

Spurs are in slightly better form but have been similarly listless since their Champions League charge was ended in a 3-2 defeat at Anfield. 

 

Live Stream and TV Info

United States: NBC Sports Extra, 10 a.m. ET 

United Kingdom: No live coverage, highlights on Match of the Day, 10 p.m. GMT

 

Players to Watch

Several of Stoke's players are good candidates for the key man in this match. Charlie Adam, usually reliable for an unnecessary foul that results in an injured Spurs player, is one; Peter Crouch, facing his former club, is another. 

Bojan, who scored that sensational goal against Spurs in November, is injured, as is Victor Moses. 

Asmir Begovic, Stoke's excellent goalkeeper, is always an important player for the Potters and will be the vital man when Spurs come to town. Spurs' team has grown this season, but it retains the capacity to become frustrated by an effective defence. If Begovic can marshal Stoke's, he will be well on the way to securing another victory. 

Given that Spurs' season is essentially over, the focus is not so much on winning the game as on determining trends for the next campaign. Ryan Mason is one of the players under the most pressure to perform, but the fact that he was an academy product (and therefore free) limits the criticism he can face. 

Erik Lamela, the club's record signing, has a handful of opportunities left to ensure he will survive the predicted summer sales. After an effective and hardworking performance against Manchester City, Lamela now has a great chance to follow that up with another. 

Stoke is the kind of opposition that requires hard work to beat. If Lamela can help Spurs to victory, it will help him nail down a place in Mauricio Pochettino's squad for next season. 

 

Key Battle 

This match will be determined by Stoke's ability to take control of the midfield. If Jon Walters and Marko Arnautovic can help flood the midfield area, Spurs will find it difficult to impose themselves on the match. 

Pochettino stubbornly persists with his two-man midfield, and that has proven a relatively easily exploited weakness. 

The duo of Mason and Bentaleb are, at their best, effective and exciting. If Stoke concede space and allow Spurs to dominate possession, that pair will help create the platform for Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen to open Stoke up. 

 

Odds

Spurs are the 3-2 favourites to win this match with Odds Shark, while Stoke are 23-10 and a draw is 9-5. 

Harry Kane is 6-4 to score at anytime in this match, and given that he hasn't managed a goal in his last two matches, he is due to score.