Between inconsistency and points deduction, Everton struggles in the Premier League this season. Tottenham Hotspur is experiencing a demanding spell after failing to record a win in five Premier League matches.
Everton let go of some notable names over the summer with the likes of Moise Kean leaving for Serie A giants Juventus, Nigerian midfielder Alex Iwobi joining Fulham, and Demarai Gray crossing continents to join Al-Ettifaq of Saudi Arabia. Neal Maupay and Mason Holgate sealed loan moves away to Brentford and Southampton respectively. At the same time, Tom Davies, Asmir Begovic, and Yerry Mina departed for Sheffield United, QPR, and Fiorentina respectively, on free transfers.
The Toffees also acquired the services of new talents to bolster their ranks, signing Beto from Italian club side Udinese Calcio, Chermiti from Sporting CP, Arnaut Danjuma on loan from Villarreal, Ashley Young and Jack Harrison from Aston Villa and Leeds United respectively on free transfers.
Tottenham Hotspurs’ most notable exit over the summer was star striker and former club captain Harry Kane who left the North London side for Bundesliga giants Bayern München in search of a new challenge.
Other exits include Harry Winks, who left for Leicester City, Davinson Sanchez, and Tanguy Ndombele moved to Turkish giants Galatasaray. Lucas Moura signed for Sao Paulo on a free transfer. At the same time, Sergio Reguilon, Japhet Tanganga, Djed Spence, and Joe Rondon secured loan moves away to Manchester United, FC Augsburg, and Leeds United, respectively.
Spurs also welcomed new talents into their fold signing Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest, English midfielder James Maddison from Leicester City, Dutch center-back Micky van de Ven from VfL Wolfsburg, Pedro Porro from Sporting CP, Dejan Kulusevski from Italian giants Juventus, and current starting goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli.
Exciting winger Manor Solomon joined from Shakhtar Donetsk on a free transfer while Giovanni Lo Celso returned from his loan spell at Villarreal.
Everton did not get the start to the season they would have been hoping for as they managed only four wins and one draw while suffering six defeats in the opening ten Premier League matches, winning none of their five games.
In this period, The Toffees were put to the sword by the likes of Fulham, Aston Villa, Wolves, Arsenal, fellow strugglers Luton Town, and Merseyside rivals Liverpool, who managed a 2-2 draw away against Sheffield United at Elland Road and triumphed against Brentford, Bournemouth and West Ham United.
The Toffees’ recent form has been decent given the kind of start to the season they have endured. Sean Dyche’s men have managed three wins in their five Premier League matches, losing one and drawing another.
A 1-1 stalemate at Goodison Park with Brighton and Hove Albion was followed by a five-goal thriller against Crystal Palace with the Toffees coming out on top of that game with a 3-2 result. They were set back with a 3-0 defeat against Manchester United but Everton bounced back with back-to-back victories against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United respectively. The latter being a very impressive 3-0 win against an extreme Newcastle United side.
A very exciting start to the 23/24 Premier League campaign saw Tottenham Hotspur sit top of the Premier League table after going unbeaten in their first ten games. They have however hit a bad patch of form picking up just one point from the last fifteen that have been up for grabs.
Their winless run started against London rivals Chelsea in a match that saw them go down to nine men after Christian Romero was sent off in the 33rd minute for a reckless challenge on Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez inside the penalty box.
Udogie also received marching orders after committing a second bookable offense in the 55th minute. The Blues made their numerical advantage count as they hammered their local rivals 4-1 courtesy of a Nicolas Jackson hattrick.
Narrow 2-1 losses against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa were followed by a thrilling 3-3 draw away at The Etihad, home of defending champions and favorites Manchester City, with their most recent loss coming against another West London outfit, West Ham. The game ended 2-1 in favor of the Hammers.
At the time of writing, Everton lie in 17th place on the Premier League standings after seeing their points tally deducted as punishment for breaching FFP rules. The Toffees will be looking over their shoulders as they are just one point above the relegation zone. On the other hand, Tottenham Hotspur is 5th in the Premier League standings, three points behind Manchester City in 4th place.
Regarding their head-to-head record, statistics show that Everton and Tottenham Hotspur have played 38 matches. Among them, Everton have won 8 times (scoring 37 goals) while Tottenham have won 16 times (scoring 59 goals) with 14 draws.
Match tickets
The epic match at Goodison Park in Liverpool starts on Saturday 3rd February 2024, at 3 PM UK time.
The 39,414-capacity stadium with its electrifying atmosphere, is the place to be for this clash between a side fighting for survival and another European hopeful.
Getting tickets for the Everton v Tottenham tickets could take a lot of work, given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Everton adopts a direct pattern of play, launching long balls forward from their goalkeeper into their center-forward and hoping to progress quickly into dangerous positions in the opposition box from such situations.
Injury absentees for the Toffees include James Garner ( groin injury), Dele Alli (hip injury), Andre Gomes (calf injury) and Amadou Onana ( calf injury).
Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Tarkowski, Braithwaite, Mykolenko, Doucoure, Gueye, Young, Harrison, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin
Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur, known for their possession-heavy style of football, will be looking to control the game via the midfield with the experience and solidity of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Yves Bissouma and Giovanni Lo Celso pulling the strings.
Spurs have a long list of injury casualties including Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring injury), Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle injury), Ivan Perisic (cruciate ligament injury), James Maddison (ankle injury), Manor Solomon (meniscus injury), and Eric Dier (knock)
Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Hojbjerg, Lo Celso, Kulusevski, Johnson, Son.
Prediction
Everton will be happy to let Tottenham Hotspur dominate possession for long periods of the game as their direct style of play only requires them to hold a little of the ball. The Toffees will look to make the most of any attacking situations they can conjure.
Everton 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
