Tottenham vs. Everton: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 home win over Everton last November was a galvanising moment in their season. After a mixed opening few months under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino, their resilient display against a talented, albeit stumbling Toffees side proved a timely affirmation of the north Londoners' own abilities.
With just two points from their opening three Premier League games, Tottenham could again do with a confidence boost against Everton.
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Pochettino knows there is only so long the settling-down portion of a campaign can be used as an excuse for underwhelming performances. Heading into the international break, he and his team will want to quickly rid themselves of the flaky tag developing off the back of blown leads in their past two matches.
Everton's August has been more satisfying but no less eventful.
Off the back of an impressive 3-0 defeat of Southampton, Roberto Martinez's team put up a spirited showing against in-form title-contenders Manchester City last week, only succumbing to a 2-0 defeat in the second half. On Wednesday they came from behind to beat Barnsley 5-3 in extra time in an exciting Capital One Cup second-round meeting.
Surrounding all of this has been the distractions of supporter unrest over the club's direction and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding defender John Stones' future.
Speaking ahead of their trip to the capital—per their official website—Martinez held the club line that Stones would not be leaving for Chelsea. With a few days left before the transfer window shuts, the Spaniard will hope the 21-year-old does not lose focus at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Date: Saturday, August 29
Time: 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET
Venue: White Hart Lane, London
TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK and Ireland only)/NBC Sports Network (U.S. only)
Live Stream: Sky Go and NOW TV (UK and Ireland only)/NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. only)
Form Lines
| Tottenham Hotspur | Everton |
| Premier League, August 22: Leicester City (A)—Draw: 1-1 | Capital One Cup, August 26: Barnsley (A)—Win: 3-5 (aet) |
| Premier League, August 15: Stoke City (H)—Draw: 2-2 | Premier League, August 22: Manchester City (H)—Loss: 2-3 |
| Premier League, August 8: Manchester United (A)—Loss: 1-0 | Premier League, August 15: Southampton (A)—Win: 0-3 |
| Pre-season (Audi Cup), August 5: AC Milan (A)—Win: 0-2 | Premier League, August 8: Watford (H)—Draw: 2-2 |
| Pre-season (Audi Cup), August 4: Real Madrid (A)—Loss: 2-0 | Pre-season (Duncan Ferguson Testimonial), August 2: Villarreal (H)—Loss: 1-2 |
Team News
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Pochettino confirmed Christian Eriksen would miss a second match in a row. Clinton Njie is unlikely to appear as he continues to get up to speed following a disrupted pre-season, but Alex Pritchard is in contention after his own delayed preparations this summer. Depending on how he got on in training on Friday, Andros Townsend could also feature.
New signing Heung-Min Son is awaiting his work permit and international clearance, per Spurs' official Twitter.
"Brendan Galloway will be the only one who's a doubt to be included in the squad," said Martinez ahead of leaving for the capital (above). Leighton Baines, Darron Gibson, Tony Hibbert and Steven Pienaar all remain out.
At the time of writing, there had been no suggestion new recruit Leandro Rodriguez had been signed in time to feature.
Predicted Lineups
Eriksen's absence gives Pochettino scope to mix things up in attacking midfield a little.
Erik Lamela came in for the Dane at Leicester City, only to make a minimal impact as Tottenham's creative intentions were stifled by the home side's well-disciplined defence. The Argentinian should get his chance again this season (his boss said on Thursday he intends to keep his compatriot around), but it is his replacement at the King Power Stadium who may get the nod this week.
Dele Alli's impact was not immediate. Leicester were not going to break down easily and Spurs were still struggling for ideas. When the Foxes were finally caught off guard, the 19-year-old helped take advantage, finishing a sudden charge forward he had helped set off.
It is possible a more patient approach will be best for Alli's development as a top-flight footballer. But do not be surprised if Pochettino decides there is little harm in seeing if the penetration and determination he provided last week are ready to be utilised on a regular basis.
Around Alli, Nacer Chadli has been productive already this season. While less influential against Leicester than in previous games, Mousa Dembele should also be kept on with quieting Everton in mind.
Having predicted the fit-again Danny Rose would replace Ben Davies in each of Spurs' last two games, this writer will take a hint this week and suggest the latter starts as part of an unchanged defence (cue Rose coming back).
As referenced earlier, Martinez looks set to keep Bryan Oviedo at left-back with Baines and now Galloway absent. Barring an overnight change of heart/situation, the Spaniard has said Stones will also start alongside the Costa Rican and defensive regulars Seamus Coleman and Phil Jagielka.
"We are the perfect environment and the perfect place, as we have in the last two seasons for John," said Martinez, arguing for why Stones is best off at Everton, per their official website. "We need to be a winning team and be delighted that we have John with us."
Gareth Barry (set for a milestone appearance) and James McCarthy are likely to be back in central midfield after being rested for Barnsley. Martinez will hope Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku are not tired from their contributions to that late League Cup win.
The biggest question mark is over whom Everton will start a little further out wide.
Tom Cleverley may be kept on the right to help cover for Coleman's advances forward. Arouna Kone's place may be most at risk on the opposite side with Gerard Deulofeu helping turn around the midweek game. With Kevin Mirallas also available, it is a tough one to call.
Everton Player to Watch: Ross Barkley
Selecting Barkley is certainly not a tough decision for Martinez right now. After he struggled through 2014-15, the 21-year-old appears to be back to his most vibrant and influential best.
The midfielder scored in the opening-day 2-2 draw with Watford and the win over Southampton. Everton looked at their most threatening against Manchester City when he got on the ball too. His forward runs helped ensure they were not pinned down all day by the superior visitor onslaught.
Along with Deulofeu, Barkley's introduction helped turn around Wednesday's cup game after a decidedly lacklustre first-half effort from the Toffees. Martinez will hope the England international's restoration to his starting lineup will ensure a far quicker start against Tottenham.
If Barkley is able to get at Spurs enough, he should also create opportunities for Lukaku. Such will be the attention the home side are ordered to pay to his advances; if they are not careful, the striker could use the distraction to find a punishing yard or two of space of his own.
Tottenham Player to Watch: Eric Dier
The man Pochettino will likely task with seeing to Barkley's threat is Dier, the newly established defensive midfielder presence who has started all three matches this season.
Dier helped Spurs avoid a repeat of their previous dismantling by Manchester United in the season opener at Old Trafford. He had a solid 70 minutes against Stoke too before Spurs ceded control of the game, and he was left to fend with little real assistance around him from a midfield altered by enforced substitutions.
With Leicester's Marc Albrighton, Shinji Okazaki, Jamie Vardy and particularly Riyad Mahrez exploiting pockets of space on the flanks last week, Dier and his midfield partner Ryan Mason were often left scrambling to try to provide additional cover. Similar situations will arise again against Everton, but it is Barkley whom Dier will probably need to be most concerned about.
He will inevitably get opportunities to run at his fellow England youth man. Dier being able to stop him getting too far would help his defence from being put under too much pressure. However, he must also be prepared for situations closer to the Spurs' penalty area when Barkley and the myriad of long-range threats among his team-mates get a sight of goal.
Key Battle: Lax Defences versus Powerful Forwards
"If we have two points after three games, it is not because we have a lack of players or we don’t sign one striker or one 'keeper," Pochettino offered at the culmination of a pre-Everton press conference chock full of transfer questions. "It is because we make some mistakes like Leicester or like Stoke after 2-0."
The lack of additional options in attack has hurt Tottenham in their last two games. Momentum was lost against Stoke, while more direct threats that may have forced Leicester to back-pedal were unavailable. Nonetheless, Pochettino is right to cite the mistakes in all three of their matches (against Manchester United it was a careless pass from Nabil Bentaleb) as being more consequential.
He was particularly frustrated at how his team conceded a goal at Leicester almost immediately after scoring themselves. Said Pochettino: "You need to be more strong, more focused, never switched off."
With a defence featuring first-choice centre-backs Jagielka and Stones, Everton were just as bad defensively against Barnsley. If the Tykes had not been as lax in their own defending, the Toffees may have been heading to north London off the back of an embarrassing Cup exit to a third-tier team.
It could be argued the key battle for both Tottenham and Everton, particularly their back lines, is with themselves—their ability to be more strong, more focused and never switched off.
Fortunately for more entertainingly adversarial purposes, the front men they are set to face will provide examinations of many of the same issues.
Lukaku has started the new campaign strongly, scoring twice each against Southampton and Burnley. If Spurs grant him the same space they have Mame Biram Diouf and Mahrez in recent weeks, it could be a stew of inattentive marking and avoidable recriminations.
Kane has not yet found the net but has been behind much of his team's best attacking work. His diving header on the final day of last season, sneaking between ball-watching Everton defenders, showed how lethal he can be too when he actually gets some good service of his own.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Tottenham win: 20/21
Everton win: 16/5
Draw: 13/5
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
