FA Cup football returns for the New Year, with Tottenham Hotspur aiming to end their continuing trophy drought, hosting League One visitors Portsmouth.
Pompey were highflyers at the start of the League One season, taking 21 points from their first nine matches, scoring twenty goals. However, the south coast side has been struggling for form recently, going winless in the league for nine games and only taking 7 points, which resulted in losing their managerial staff in the process.
Portsmouth has been relatively successful in their FA Cup run this year, gliding past National League North side Hereford, beating them 3-1, and holding off a late comeback from MK Dons in the second round.
Spurs come into this match after a resounding win against fellow London side Crystal Palace, comfortably beating them 4-0, hopefully re-igniting their top-four hopes for this season.
Tottenham have turned around their form since the World Cup break with a win against Crystal Palace, previously drawing to Brentford and putting in a surprisingly weak performance losing to Aston Villa.
A second-half masterclass from Harry Kane continues to put his name on the scoresheet, scoring twice in their previous game, taking him to 266 goals in all competitions, in his 300th Premier League appearance for Tottenham.
Heung-Min Son also turned around his form, scoring his first goal in eight matches for Spurs. Son previously shared the Golden Boot with Mohammed Salah last season but has been out of sorts until now - this was only his fourth goal since the start of the 22/23 season.
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Team News
Tottenham Hotspur
Antonio Conte should look to re-implement Yves Bissouma back into the squad after his one-match ban, and rotate the squad so that reserve players get a chance at some minutes, Pape Sarr and Djed Spence coming into the fray.
Dejan Kulusevski is doubtful for this cup tie, with his muscle injury being worse than feared - Conte has revealed he has no idea when the Swede could return for Spurs, and will more than likely field Bryan Gil in his position.
Lucas Moura hasn't played for Spurs since November with an ongoing tendon issue which ruled him out of the World Cup. Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur are also out and are expected to be back in late January.
Portsmouth
Spurs will have no idea what Pompey will bring to the game tactically as Portsmouth are led by head coach Simon Bassey who will take the role of caretaker manager.
Portsmouth hope to have defender Clark Robertson back after he was forced to miss the defeat against Charlton. The visitors will be without Spurs loanee Dane Scarlett for this game, instead relying on top scorer Colby Bishop.
Marlon Pack is suspended, and Owen Dale of Blackpool is cup-tied, while captain Clark Robertson is uncertain due to a hip injury.
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Line Up Prediction
Spurs: Forster; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Spence, Skipp, Sarr, Bissouma, Sessegnon; Gil, Son.
Portsmouth: Griffiths; Swanson, Raggett, Morrison, Ogilvie; Hackett, Morrell, Mingi, Hume; Bishop, Pigott.
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Key Players
Spurs: Bryan Gil
With Kuluveski out of the squad for an uncertain amount of time, the next few games will be essential for Gil to establish himself a place in the starting eleven. The game against Crystal Palace was only his second start, and since signing from Valencia, he has yet to bring much impact to the Spurs squad.
Hopefully, after his positive performance in the previous match, he can replicate this against Portsmouth and create good chances, which should set him up for the tough North London derby against Arsenal.
Portsmouth: Colby Bishop
The current top scorer for Portsmouth this season on ten goals should be the player to rely on here if Pompey wants to get a surprise result against Spurs.
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Match Details
Where is the game being played?
The cup tie will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, on Saturday, January 7, 2023.
What time is kick-off?
Tottenham vs Portsmouth is scheduled for a 12.30 pm GMT kick-off.
How can I watch?
The match is being streamed free on BBC red button and on iPlayer for viewers in the UK.