Tottenham Hotspur's quest for Champions League football continues as they take on a resurgent Bournemouth side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A game that many Spurs fans will earmark as must win as they look to chase down Newcastle United and Manchester United, who currently sit above them.
Both clubs are three points clear of Cristian Stellini's troops and also have a game in hand. So Spurs face an uphill battle to return to Europe's elite competition. However, they did pick up a valuable victory against Brighton, a direct competitor in the race for Europe, last weekend.
The match though was filled with controversy from Stellini's red card to Brighton's two disallowed goals, leading to Michael Salisbury (VAR for the game) being removed from officiating this weekend. For Tottenham, the 2-1 win keeps them in touching distance of the top four and also saw Heung-Min Son score his 100th Premier League goal.
As for Saturday's visitors, they have been on a positive run since the middle of February. Four wins against Liverpool, Fulham and in relegation six-pointers versus Wolves and Leicester has seen them clamber up the table.
Going into the affair with Spurs, Bournemouth are three points clear of the relegation zone with the victory over Leicester, last Saturday holding seismic value. On the day, a 1-0 win flattered the hosts with Gary O'Neil's side unlucky not to score more, highlighted by their 2.48 xG.
Since O'Neil's permanent appointment, there have been ups and downs with a long winless run in the winter leading to fans questioning the decision to give him the full-time job. But, The Cherries now stand a good chance of survival which seemed unlikely at the start of the campaign.
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Team News
Saturday's hosts are without several full-backs including likely starters; Emerson Royal and Ben Davies. They are also missing influential midfielder, Rodrigo Bentancur as well as summer signing, Yves Bissouma.
Lucas Moura is suspended after his red card against Everton, although he is seen as only a fringe player now.
Ryan Fredericks and Junior Stanislas are both injured, which has been the case for the majority of the campaign due to various niggles. While Hamed Traore has a foot problem and will miss this weekend's encounter.
In more positive news, influential centre-back Marcos Senesi is back in training after missing the Leicester win. Although whether he will replace Chris Mepham or Jack Stephens is a question for O'Neil, after both performed admirably in his absence.
As for Jordan Zemura's situation, he will not play for the club again after agreeing to a pre-contract move to the Italian side, Udinese. The Zimbabwean international has signed a four-year deal in Udine.
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Likely lineups
Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Porro, Skipp, Højbjerg, Perisic; Kulusevski, Son; Kane
Neto; Smith, Stephens, Mepham, Kelly; Rothwell, Lerma; Christie, Billing, Tavernier; Solanke
Key players
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Not much needs to be said about Harry Kane's goalscoring exploits as he approaches his 30th birthday. The England captain recently became the club's all-time top scorer after scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win against Manchester City, a fitting occasion to break Jimmy Greaves' record.
Kane has also scored in his past four Premier League matches, including a brace against Bournemouth's relegation rivals, Nottingham Forest. He will be eyeing up a fifth consecutive game against an opponent he has enjoyed playing against in the past.
In nine games against the team from the south coast, Kane has scored seven times. A hat-trick in the club's first encounter back in 2015 certainly got him in the groove for playing against Bournemouth.
Phillip Billing (AFC Bournemouth)
Phillip Billing has established himself as a consistent Premier League performer this year and is arguably on course to win The Cherries' Player of the Season award.
Throughout his four campaigns at Bournemouth, fans have sometimes questioned his place in the team due to a perceived lack of work rate (his stats this term indicate the opposite) but the Dane is now very much one of the first names on the team sheet.
With his contract expiring next summer, the boardroom has the decision to make especially as his impressive season will have been noticed by clubs both in England and in Europe.
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Match details
Where is the game being played?
Saturday's game will be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.
What time is the kick-off?
The game is scheduled to kick off at 15:00 BST.
How can I watch it?
The game won't be broadcast live in the UK. Highlights will be available though on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel and Match of the Day.
