Tottenham Hotspur's first home game of the Premier League season sees them welcome Stoke City to White Hart Lane on Saturday, as they look to make up for a poor start last week.
Disappointing starts
Despite heartening performances from both sides in the opening weekend of the season, Tottenham and Stoke finished the opening round of fixtures having suffered demoralising defeats.
Mauricio Pochettino and his Tottenham side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford. With nothing between the two sides, a Kyle Walker own goal eventually settled the tight match, as Spurs headed back to London thinking ‘what if’.
Stoke, and boss Mark Hughes, suffered a defeat at the hands of Liverpool at the Britannia Stadium. A late Philippe Coutinho stunner settled the game despite a more than accomplished performance from The Potters.
With both sides going into the second round of fixtures without a point, there is an added incentive to make sure they are tighter at the back, whilst offering a more significant attacking threat in the opposition’s final third.
Previous Battles
Tottenham failed to prize any points away from Stoke last season, losing both home and away.
The first meeting of the 2014-15 campaign took place at White Hart Lane and finished in a 2-1 victory for the Staffordshire side. Bojan and Jon Walters put Stoke in a commanding position at the break, before Nacer Chadli gave the home side some hope with a stunning late volley.
The corresponding fixture at the Britannia was even more comfortable for Stoke, however. A 3-0 victory for the home side in early May highlighted the progress being made under the guidance of Hughes.
Goals from Charlie Adam, Steven N’Zonzi and a Jan Vertonghen own goal compounded Pochettino to a bitterly disappointing defeat which was made further disastrous with Vlad Chriciches’ sending off late on.
Team News
Tottenham go into the fixture at 3pm on Saturday with a fully fit squad. Regular starters Hugo Lloris and Danny Rose, who both missed the defeat in Manchester last week, look set to regain their starting places in a bid to secure a first clean sheet of the season.
Aaron Lennon and Emmanuel Adebayor remain out of favour at White Hart Lane as Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy look to find permanent homes for the two attackers. Roberto Soldado has been given to return to Spain in an effort to complete a move to Villarreal whilst expected signing Clinton N’Jie looks unlikely to complete his move from Lyon in time.
Wingers Andros Townsend and Alex Pritchard have both regained full fitness in recent days as they bid to add further competition in the final third for Pochettino’s Lilywhites.
Stoke go into the game with a couple of key players considered doubtful. Winger Marko Arnautović along with defenders Erik Pieters and Mark Wilson face fights against time in their efforts to be fit for the match in the capital. However, Xherdan Shaqiri could be in line for a debut following his transfer from Inter Milan.
The Verdict
Tottenham will go into the match against Stoke expecting to come away with the three points to kick-start their season after an opening day defeat. The return to fitness of attackers Townsend and Pritchard will likely add new impetus to the Tottenham attack as they bid to score their first goals of the season.
Stoke, however, will look to make the game as difficult and physical as they possibly can. Recent signings indicate a continued change in style for Hughes, with flair playing an increasing role, but sticking to the foundations they have built in recent years may prove the most effective method of coming away from White Hart Lane with a positive result.