Three talking points ahead of Tottenham vs Everton

Tottenham Hotspur will aim to get their first win of the 2024/25 Premier League season on Saturday when they welcome Everton to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Lilywhites appeared to be cruising to victory against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday night, only for the newly-promoted outfit to pull back in the second half to earn a 1-1 draw. Jamie Vardy turned out to be the thorn in the Tottenham side once again, although the result was marred by a nasty head injury to Rodrigo Bentancur.

After dropping points in the East Midlands, Ange Postecoglou and Co. will be raring to bounce back and make the Tottenham Hotspur faithful happy. Everton will provide a different test than Leicester City, so Spurs have to be ready for that.

On that note, let us take a look at the three talking points for Tottenham ahead of their first home game of the new season.

1. Who will replace Rodrigo Bentancur against Everton?

Monday’s game at the King Power Stadium was stopped for several minutes after Rodrigo Bentancur came off worse in a clash of heads with Leicester City’s Abdul Fatawu. The Uruguay international appeared to have been knocked out cold as the doctors and physios rushed to treat him.

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After the game, Ange Postecoglou gave the reassuring update that Bentancur was conscious and talking. Given the severity of the head injury and Spurs using a concussion substitute against Leicester, the 27-year-old will now miss Saturday’s league game due to a concussion protocol.

With Bentancur ruled out, the main question arises here—who will replace him against Everton? Young guns Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall came on for their Spurs debuts in the second half, with the former replacing the injured Bentancur in the 78th minute. After coming on together, both Gray and Bergvall applied themselves very well and barely looked flustered in the hostile atmosphere.

With Gray being a bit more defensive-minded than Bergvall, chances of him getting the nod to partner Pape Matar Sarr in the Spurs engine room appear to be high. The likelier option would be Yves Bissouma who was handed a one-match ban but Postecoglou is yet to confirm if the Mali international will be involved against the Toffees.

2. Can James Maddison have the same influence in the final third?

Tottenham signed James Maddison from Leicester City in a £40 million deal last summer and he returned to his Old stomping ground for the first time on Monday. It turned out to be a memorable day for him as the creative midfielder was received well by the King Power Stadium faithful. They appreciated his services by singing and clapping whenever he took the corner-kick duties, barring his assist for Pedro Porro’s opener, of course.

Maddison enjoyed a fantastic outing against his former employers, delivering a masterclass as a No.10. The England international exploited spaces between Leicester’s midfield and defence, attacked the channels and created plenty of opportunities which should have been finished by the Spurs forwards. On another day, Spurs easily go out of sight in the first half itself thanks to his creativity.

Having said that, Postecoglou will expect Maddison to pick up the pieces from where he left off on Saturday. However, Everton are a completely different side than Leicester and usually sits in a low block under Sean Dyche.

So, it will be a challenge for Maddison to link up with his teammates and find gaps in the final third against a well-drilled Everton side. It will be interesting to see if the English playmaker can build on the performance at Leicester and deliver the goods on Saturday.

3. How Tottenham deal with Everton’s direct approach

For everything we saw in our season opener on Monday, there were plenty of positives to take home. Conversely, some of the last campaign’s old habits came to the floor which quickly needs eliminating this term. And one of those is our susceptibility to quick transitions.

Big Ange’s team passed well, interchanged, moved smartly and created plenty to win the contest against Everton. A lack of ruthless edge was the main problem, but Spurs could have easily held on to three points had they defended well. Poor marking in general and lapses in concentration in defence once again proved the team’s downfall, as fox in the box Jamie Vardy punished us in what was just his first opportunity.

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Unlike Leicester, Everton are a physical side that eats and lives on quick counterattacks, transitions and set pieces. Spurs have to be wary of Everton’s physical and direct approach as Sean Dyche will look to take advantage of our team’s soft underbelly.

Keeping that in mind, Big Ange must plan well to deal with the Toffees’ different threats—on the ball and off it—on Saturday.