After a strong and dominating performance at the Britannia last weekend, Mauricio Pochettino’s men will be back to the Lane this time around as they welcome David Moyes’ Sunderland side that has just 1 point from the first 4 games of the season. The Spurs are fresh off a defeat in the Champions League to French outfit AS Monaco and will be hoping to hit back in this game against the Black Cats. They lacked any kind of intensity in the mid-week fixture and Pochettino will want his team to go all out this weekend to take maximum points from this game.
Moyes’ side, on the other hand, have been poor this season and were hammered at home by a rampant Everton outfit last weekend. They look a side devoid of a leader and are in desperate need of some confidence and facing a high intense fixture against the Spurs will only make them more vulnerable. The visitors sit at the bottom of the table early this season and will have to work really hard to get anything from this game. Here is the preview of this clash along with team news, expected lineups and predictions:
Time, Date & Venue:
The clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland will be played on Sunday the 18th of September at the White Hart Lane in London. The kickoff is scheduled at 16:30 BST.
Team News:
Mauricio Pochettino’s side will be strengthened by the come-back of Mousa Dembele as he completed his term of domestic suspension last weekend. He will be a great addition to the side which will give the manager plenty of options for this game. Danny Rose, who is at the least out for another week due to injury, is the only player missing from this game from the squad.
David Moyes, on the other side, will be without the services of Fabio Borini, Vito Mannone and Sebastian Larsson for this game with the trio nursing long term injuries. The duo of Lee Cattermole and Steven Pienaar are back in training and may be considered this weekend while it might be too early for Billy Jones and Victor Anichebe to be considered for this game.
Expected Line-ups:
Tottenham Hotspur:
With Dembele back in, Pochettino might give him the nod ahead of Victor Wanyama who has been decent in the midfield. Eriksen and Dier should keep their place while Moussa Sissoko might also start in place of Heung-Min Son. Here is their probable lineup for this game:
Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Dembele, Sissoko, Alli, Eriksen; Kane
Sunderland:
Having failed to make any mark in the Premier League this season, the likes Cattermole and Pienaar might be shipped into the first team straight away this weekend to induce some spirit into the side. Januzaj is expected to start on the left flank for this game. Here is Sunderland’s expected line-up for this game:
Pickford; Manquillo, Kone, Djilobodji, Van Aanholt; Cattermole, Kirchhoff, Rodwell, Pienaar, Januzaj; Defoe
What to expect from the game:
The Spurs showed great energy in their game last weekend against Stoke but were somehow completely out of their rhythm in the mid-week fixture against Monaco. Pochettino would have given them a proper battering after the loss and they will be expected to come out all guns blazing. Moyes will want his side to sit tight and defend to try and frustrate the home side, a style that has worked wonders for the Black Cats in the past. It will be a battle between Sunderland’s mettle and Spurs’ armory and can easily go either way. But playing at home, Pochettino’s men will be favorites to take home all three points and Sunderland will have to work really hard to get something from this game.
Our Prediction:
Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Sunderland
