Cardiff vs Spurs Preview, Team News, Likely Line-Ups, Key Man & Predicted Score

Tottenham Hotspur get back to Premier League action as they take on newly-promoted Cardiff City on Sunday.

Spurs head into the game after a comfortable 3-0 win over Tromso in the opening game of the Europa League group stages on Thursday. Jermain Defoe helped himself to a brace on his return to the starting line-up while new signing Christian Eriksen came off the bench to fire home a stunning third – his first goal for the club.

Andre Villas-Boas’s men are currently sitting joint-second in the table after a 2-0 win over Norwich last week and they could reach the summit with a win if other results go their way after leaders Liverpool lost 1-0 to Southampton at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

But Cardiff wont be easy opposition for the north Londoners and the Walsh outfit have already shown they are more than capable of mixing it with the big-boys with a stunning 3-2 win over Man City earlier this month, and Malky Mackay will be looking to build upon a solid start to life in the Premiership.

Team News

Cardiff have been boosted by the return of goalkeeper David Marshall who is back after missing last weeks draw at Hull with a hip injury he picked up while away with Scotland.

Craig Bellamy is also in line for a recall but striker Andreas Cornelius remains on the sidelines with the ankle injury.

Tottenham are expected to be without left-back Danny Rose after he limped off in midweek with an ankle injury. Jan Vertonghen is likely to fill in with Younes Kaboul playing alongside Michael Dawson in the middle if he proves his fitness after also hobbling off against Tromso.

Midfielder Mousa Dembele could miss out after being stretchered off last time out with an ankle injury, so Sandro may line-up alongside Paulinho in midfield. Jermain Defoe will hope to keep his place after his goal-scoring exploits in midweek.

Etienne Capoue, Aaron Lennon and Nacer Chadli are all still on the sidelines but defender Vlad Chiriches could make his debut after receiving his work permit.

Likely Line-Ups

Key Man

Christian Eriksen: The Dane has made an excellent start to life at White Hart Lane and showed his quality with a stunning goal on Thursday. He’s certainly the one to watch this weekend.

Predicted Score

Cardiff 1-2 Tottenham: Spurs are on an excellent run of late and we can see them edging this one, but they’ll be made to fight for it by a stubborn Cardiff side.

What would your team be and what’s your predicted score for the game? Share your views below.