Tottenham and Everton both find themselves far worse off at this stage of the season than either fan base could have imagined when the teams last met in August.
Defeat in Wednesday's North London derby leaves Tottenham in 14th place, just eight points above the relegation zone, having gained five points from their previous nine games.
This extremely worrying and unfamiliar territory will be amplified to great extent if Everton were to bridge the gap on them this Sunday.
Despite narrow defeat to Aston Villa in their midweek outing, the Toffees will be encouraged by evident improvements displayed under David Moyes, who will be eager to take advantage of their opponents poor form as he looks to revitalise the club for his second spell in charge.
Everton haven't beaten Tottenham at Goodison Park in the Premier League since December 2012 and the visitors have beaten Everton by at least three goals on five occasions since 2017.
However, during Moyes' previous tenure, their record against Tottenham was much better, with the Scotsman having merged victorious seven times in his first spell at the club.
Both managers will be aware of the significance of winning this Sunday as they look to ease the pressure on their sides, with the relegation zone looming.
-
Team news
Moyes has confirmed that striker Armando Broja, on-loan from Chelsea, may return to his parent club after he suffered an ankle injury in last week's FA Cup clash against Peterborough, which may rule him out for up to three months.
Other absentees due to injury are: Seamus Coleman, Dwight McNeil, James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam and Youssef Chermiti.
Tottenham
Tottenham remain in desperate need of centre back reinforcements, with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies all still sidelined through injury.
Rodrigo Bentancur is also unavailable after the concussion he suffered when he collapsed against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg last week.
Wilson Odobert remains a long term absentee, along with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and left-back Destiny Udogie.
-
Likely lineups
Jordan Pickford; Ashley Young, James Tarkowski, Jarrod Branthwaite, Vitalii Mykolenko; Orel Mangala, Idrissa Gueye; Jack Harrison, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Iliman Ndiaye; Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Antonín Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Radu Dragusin, Archie Gray, Djed Spence; Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison; Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Son Heung-Min.
-
Key players
Everton - Idrissa Gueye
The Senegalese midfielder has been the focal point of Everton's midfield during his six years at the club - across two spells.
Even during the dark times the club have endured in recent years, Gueye has never failed to showcase his superb quality, utilising his strength, dribbling and awareness in the holding midfield role, which has served great importance to the protection of Everton's defence- which has no doubt had major influence on their survival in past campaigns.
With Tottenham's midfield performing with very little conviction during their poor run of form, these midfield battles will significantly dictate the outcome of this game and Gueye will play a vital role in that.
Tottenham - Dominic Solanke
Filling the boots of Harry Kane was always going to be an extremely tall order. While Solanke's debut season at Tottenham has certainly not lived up to expectation from a collective point of view, individually he can hold his head high with what he has achieved.
Solanke has registered 11 goals and six assists in all competitions this season. With his rich vain of form across December and January proving to be priceless, preventing Tottenham's current situation from being considered an absolute calamity.
Aside from goal contributions, Solanke has also impressed with his strength in hold up play, allowing others to make runs off of him, subsequently creating chances in the final third.
If Everton are to sit back and absorb the high Tottenham line, Postecoglou may rely on a moment of magic from his talisman to be the difference between the sides.
-
Match details
Where is the game being played?
The game will take place at Goodison Park - the final time these sides will meet here.
What time is kick off?
The match will begin at 14:00 on Sunday 19th January.
How can I watch?
The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
