Premier League
Stoke v Tottenham Preview, Team News, Likely Line-Ups & Predicted Score
Tottenham travel to the Britannia Stadium to take on Stoke City on Sunday lunchtime looking to secure three points. Here’s a preview with team news for the game.
Tottenham travel to the Britannia Stadium to take on Stoke City on Sunday lunchtime knowing anything other than three points will severely damage their hopes of a top-four finish this season.
Spurs head into the game sitting fifth – just one point behind Arsenal – and boss Andre Villas-Boas has called for nothing less than six points from their remaining two fixtures to put the pressure on their north London rivals.
Champions League qualification was taken out of Tottenham’s hand’s after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, meaning they will now have to rely on the Gunners to drop points if they’re to book a place in Europe’s elite competition next season with Chelsea guaranteeing their spot with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
Stoke have endured a difficult season overall but have found some form in recent weeks to stave off the threat of relegation. Tony Pulis’s men are currently on a three-match unbeaten run which has taken them up to 11th place in the table, and the Potters will be hoping to finish the season on a high in their final home game of the season this wekeend.
Stoke manager Pulis is sweating over the fitness of Marc Wilson after he was forced off at half time against Sunderland. Andy Wilkinson is also struggling with a back problem but Glenn Whelan is back in contention after being on the sidelines in recent weeks.
Peter Crouch is expected to retain his place up front and start against his former club with Cameron Jerome and John Walters in support.
Tottenham boss Villas-Boas will give a late fitness test to midfielder Mousa Dembele after he missed the midweek draw with Chelsea due to a tight muscle. However, AVB has rated him at 80% so he’s likely to return to face Stoke this weekend.
Defenders Younes Kaboul and William Gallas are still unavailable while Sandro won’t feature again this season due to a cruciate knee ligament injury. Emmanuel Adebayor is expected to retain his place up front after an impressive display against Chelsea last time out.
Likely Line-ups
Predicted Score
Stoke have a decent recent record against Spurs, not losing in their last three Premier League meetings, and the Potters are always a difficult prospect in front of their own fans, so we can see Tottenham dropping some valuable points on Sunday. Stoke 1-1 Tottenham
What would be your preferred line-up for the game and what’s your score prediction? Get involved in the comments section below.
