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Preview: Chelsea and Spurs close the midweek round in the Premier League

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Preview: Chelsea and Spurs close the midweek round in the Premier League - FotMob
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Two out of form London rivals

Neither club are in especially stellar form at the moment, with Chelsea having won just four Premier League games in 2025 so far and Spurs having won just three and both clubs having been eliminated early from both the EFL and FA Cups. Chelsea’s only recent wins have come against relegation fodder in the form of Leicester City and Southampton, while Spurs have failed to win any of their last three Premier League matches.

History

Chelsea have long had the upper hand in this fixture, with Spurs having won just two of their last sixteen meetings, going back more than six years. They’ve won more Premier League matches against Spurs – 36 – than any other team, while earlier this season Chelsea won 4-3 at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Going back a little further, both sides have some degree of reason to be a little cheerful. Spurs won their last major trophy against Chelsea, the EFL Cup in 2008, and beat them in the 1967 FA Cup final. But the last time the two clubs met in a cup final, Chelsea beat Spurs 2-0 to win the 2015 EFL Cup.

Key players

Southampton aside, Chelsea haven’t scored more than a single goal in a Premier League match since the start of February. Enzo Maresca will, therefore, likely be pleased to see the return of Nicolas Jackson from injury. Jackson is Chelsea’s second highest goalscorer so far in the Premier League this season behind Cole Palmer with nine goals. But will Maresca throw him straight back in?

With the pressure starting to build on Ange Postecoglou, the Spurs manager needs big performances from his available big name players for this match. James Maddison scored the goal that finished off AZ in their recent Europa League last 16 match. Spurs will be needing his creativity in midfield if the Chelsea defence is to be unlocked.

Team News

Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson all returned to training for Chelsea during the international break, but Omari Kellyman and Marc Guiu both remain sidelined. The injury situation is worse for Spurs, who will be missing Radu Drăgușin and Dejan Kulusevski, while Kevin Danso, Richarlison and Lucas Bergvall all remain doubtful, though could be due to return after their combined international and FA Cup break.

Prediction

Ange Postecoglou needs a result, and while Chelsea away is a bit of a nightmare fixture for Spurs – they haven’t won at Stamford Bridge in seven years – another defeat would only continue to build the narrative that the manager will be on his way come the end of this season. Chelsea may still be patchy themselves, at times, but they have the necessary institutional arrogance to get through a game like this without too many worries. I’ll go for a comfortable 3-1 Chelsea win and the agony to continue to pile up for their London rivals.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Former Spurs defender Vertonghen to retire at end of the season

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Former Spurs defender Vertonghen to retire at end of the season - FotMob
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Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen has confirmed he will retire from professional football at the end of the 2024-25 season.

Vertonghen, who now plays for Anderlecht in his home nation, has been limited to just five appearances across all competitions after Achilles and ankle problems.

The 37-year-old retired from international football last July, ending his career with Belgium as the Red Devils' all-time appearance maker with 157 caps for his country.

Vertonghen started his career with Eredivisie side Ajax before completing a move to Spurs in 2012, and would spend eight years in north London.

The defender made 315 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 14 times and twice being named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

He was also a key figure in Mauricio Pochettino's team that reached the Champions League final in 2019, a game they lost 2-0 to Liverpool in Madrid.

Following his spell with Spurs, Vertonghen joined Benfica on a three-year deal before signing on a free transfer with Anderlecht in 2022 after his previous contract was terminated.

Vertonghen cited an inability to properly prepare for games as key to his decision, and will hang up his boots after Anderlecht's final league game of the season against Genk.

"I have noticed that it is becoming more and more difficult to prepare myself physically for training sessions and matches and to show myself as the player I want to be," he said.

"Not only towards the fans and my fellow players, but also towards myself. That is why I will be stopping after this season."

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Preview: Spurs looking for a response against Europe-chasing Cherries

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Midweek wobbles and wavering form

Three steps forward, two steps back. It looked as though Spurs had turned a corner with three straight Premier League wins, but supine defeats to Manchester City and AZ have thoroughly eliminated that brittle optimism. What was most concerning about their performance in Alkmaar was how passive they were in a match of such clear significance for their season.

So this is not an ideal time to be playing highish-flying Bournemouth, although they too have had a little wobble recently. They booked a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend with a penalty shootout win against Wolves, though this came off the back of consecutive League defeats against Wolves and Brighton. They’re still in touch with a Champions League place, and European football for next season remains an entirely achievable ambition.

History

Prior to Bournemouth’s first promotion into the Premier League in 2015, these two clubs had only ever met once before. That came such a long time ago – February 1957, to be precise – that AFC Bournemouth were still called Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, and Bournemouth won 3-1 in the FA Cup Fifth Round. Spurs have won ten of their 15 meetings since 2015, but Bournemouth won 1-0 when they met earlier this season.

Key players

Arguably the most worrying thing about Spurs’ recent dip is that they’ve gone two games without scoring, when this team hasn’t previously had too much of a problem scoring goals for much of the season. The lack of creativity against both Manchester City and AZ was clearly evident. Heung Min Son seemed furious following the AZ match, but the team needs his goals if they’re to get through this encounter unscathed. Bournemouth’s fluidity has impressed all season, and Justin Kluivert has been a critical cog in their engine. His pace, movement and intelligence is an obvious threat to a Spurs defence which has looked rickety at times this season.

Team News

Spurs may have thought that their injury issues were resolving themselves, but the sight of former-Bournemouth man Dominic Solanke walking off against AZ in pain and clutching his back is an obvious concern. Dejan Kulusevski will also be missing, though Richarlison, Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven could return. For Bournemouth, Adam Smith, Marcos Senesi and Enes Ünal are all injured, while Illia Zabarnyi remains suspended after being sent off in their Premier League game against Wolves.

Prediction

Following a couple of insipid performances, Spurs need to get back to winning ways. They’ve lost a lot of the momentum they were starting to build. And although Bournemouth have lost three of their last four Premier League games, they’re only four points off a Champions League place so arguably have more to play for than the home side in this particular fixture. I’m going for a 2-1 Bournemouth win which everyone will think was a huge surprise but which wasn’t, really.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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live score, predicted lineups and H2H stats

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Tottenham Hotspur is playing home against Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wed, Feb 26, 2025, 19:30 UTC. This is Round 27 of the Premier League.

Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match.

The current head to head record for the teams are Tottenham Hotspur 12 win(s), Manchester City 19 win(s), and 4 draw(s).

Have scored 8 goals in their last 5 matches

Have scored 9 goals in their last 5 matches

Erling Haaland has the most shots on target per match for Manchester City (2.2)

Have scored 8 goals in their last 5 matches

Have scored 9 goals in their last 5 matches

Erling Haaland has the most shots on target per match for Manchester City (2.2)

Tottenham Hotspur is playing home against Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wed, Feb 26, 2025, 19:30 UTC. This is Round 27 of the Premier League.

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Preview: Man City go to Spurs needing a result

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A turning point

Saturday’s win over Ipswich Town was a landmark moment for Tottenham Hotspur. It marked the first time all season that they had strung together three straight wins in the Premier League, hinting at how Spurs are slowly turning around their fortunes.

Of course, Ange Postecoglou’s team are still a long way from where they want to be, sitting in the bottom half of the table with just 12 games of the campaign left. But there are finally reasons for optimism around the North London club.

Optimism is something that is in short supply around Manchester City after a damaging week for the Premier League champions. Indeed, back-to-back defeats to Real Madrid and Liverpool highlighted the fundamental frailties in Pep Guardiola’s side.

Against Liverpool, Guardiola set up his team to control possession. City, however, failed to create many opportunities. They could lean into a more direct approach against Spurs, but that risks turning the game into a basketball match. Guardiola faces a tactical conundrum.

Key players

Son Heung-min was back to his best in Tottenham’s 4-1 win over Ipswich, contributing two excellent assists for Brennan Johnson. The South Korean has scored eight goals against City in his career and could add to that tally on Wednesday night.

Mathys Tel is expected to start as Spurs’ attacking focal point as Dominic Solanke continues to make his recovery from injury. The young Frenchman will dovetail with Son on the left wing.

Kevin Danso’s arrival has steadied Tottenham’s defence and the Austrian will need to produce a big performance to keep Manchester City’s attack at arm’s length. Djed Spence, however, will give Spurs a way to get out from the back, whether that’s as a left or right back.

With Erling Haaland a doubt to feature, Omar Marmoush could be asked to lead the line for City once again with Phil Foden another option in the final third.

Jérémy Doku and Savinho could keep their place after starting against Liverpool, although Kevin de Bruyne’s lacklustre display could push Guardiola towards another central midfielder alongside Nico González.

The pace of the Tottenham attack will keep Nathan Aké and Rúben Dias on their toes with Abdukodir Khusanov another defender who could start for City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Team news

While Tottenham’s injury troubles have eased in recent weeks, they still have a good number of important players sidelined.

Indeed, Solanke, Radu Drăgușin, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Richarlison will all miss Wednesday’s match against Manchester City with Timo Werner set to face a late fitness test ahead of kick-off.

Haaland’s true fitness is still the subject of speculation. The Norwegian wasn’t included in the squad to face Liverpool on Sunday, but Guardiola has remained coy on whether he could play against Tottenham.

Long-term absentees Rodri, John Stones and Manual Akanji will all miss the trip to North London with Oscar Bobb also a doubt.

Prediction

We’re going with goals, and the home side to shade it: Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Manchester City

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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live score, predicted lineups and H2H stats

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Liverpool is playing home against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Thu, Feb 6, 2025, 20:00 UTC. This is Semi-Final of the EFL Cup.

Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match.

The current head to head record for the teams are Liverpool 18 win(s), Tottenham Hotspur 7 win(s), and 8 draw(s).

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have not drawn any of their last 6 matches against each other.

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have not drawn any of their last 6 matches against each other.

Liverpool is playing home against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Thu, Feb 6, 2025, 20:00 UTC. This is Semi-Final of the EFL Cup.

Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match.

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Analysis: The factors behind Tottenham’s disappointing season so far

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After an eighth-place league finish in 2022/23 – their worst in about 15 seasons – Tottenham Hotspur went for a change in direction and hired a relatively unproven head coach in the form of Ange Posecoglu. While the Australian tactician had a great deal of experience from around the world, he had not worked at the most elite level for as long as predecessors such as José Mourinho or Antonio Conte. More importantly, his style of play was quite different, requiring the squad to be rebuilt in his image.

About 18 months down the line, the Premier League table alone suggests Spurs’ fortunes have not improved much. However, it hardly paints an accurate picture. There are a myriad of factors that need to be analysed to appropriately assess Tottenham Hotspur’s current position.

Exceeding expectations in 2023/24

Postecoglu’s side might actually have done too well for their own good in their first season. Many analysts warned that they would need a good deal of time and transfers to properly click, so another finish outside the European spots was said to be on the cards. Instead, Spurs finished as high as fifth and even came within a couple of points of the Champions League places, naturally leading fans to get their hopes up for what they would have expected to be an even better second season.

However, it is worth noting that Tottenham overperformed in various respects last term. It could also be argued that rivals’ struggles were the main reason they jumped up three spots from the previous campaign. Indeed, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Chelsea – who all finished above Spurs in 2022/23 – had disappointing seasons for varying reasons. Even then, Tottenham had to outperform their expected points pretty significantly to finish fifth.

Had Spurs ended up in a mid-table position last season and improved to fifth in 2024/25, there would surely be widespread positivity around Postecoglu’s work.

Unending injury issues

Tottenham’s league position last season earned them UEFA Europa League qualification, which obviously is a positive on the whole. However, one downside was an increased number of fixtures since they did not play European football in 2023/24. This has proven to be an issue in some respects as the constant barrage of matches has likely contributed to Spurs’ ever-increasing injury list.

The perfect encapsulation of Tottenham’s ongoing predicament is the fact that their first-choice back four of Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie have only shared the pitch for 15 minutes since starting eight of the season’s first nine Premier League matches together. At present, all of them bar Porro is out injured, as is first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and backup defender Ben Davies. While the forward department has not suffered such massive losses simultaneously, each of Tottenham’s senior attackers other than Dejan Kulusevski have also missed some matches this season.

As a result of these absences, Postecoglu has had to fashion all sorts of makeshift solutions from fielding teenage full back Archie Gray at the heart of the defence to consistently using 17-year-old attacking talent Mikey Moore for a stretch of games. Despite these players’ best efforts, Spurs’ performances and results have naturally taken a hit.

Tactical rigidity

While there is a significant element of misfortunate behind Tottenham’s injury crisis, it would not be right to entirely absolve Postecoglu of all blame. For one, critics may argue that his intense style of play is at least partly causing all these injuries, and it also makes it more difficult for those looking to return to full fitness.

An even stronger point is the fact that the 59-year-old coach has changed next to nothing in his system despite having to field players out of position and consistently failing to get good results. For example, his tactics are quite demanding on the centre-backs as they are often left isolated with a lot of ground to cover both in and out of possession. While the likes Romero and Van de Ven are adept at such roles, it is unreasonable to expect a teenager playing out of position in his first top-flight season to do an equally good job.

So, Postecoglu unwillingness to tweak his approach is one part of the reason that Spurs have conceded the fifth-highest xG tally in the league so far.

Questionable transfer business

Perhaps the biggest cause of Tottenham’s struggles this season is neither their tactical approach nor their luck with injuries but their work in the summer transfer window. Postecoglu did a fantastic job of making do with what he had last season and refashioning various players to suit his system, but there was still a good deal of work to be done in the transfer window to properly consolidate the squad. From attack to defence, various positions could have used reinforcement, but not all got them.

Spurs fans have often been displeased with a perceived lack of investment from their owners, but they have spent nine-digit sums on transfer fees in five of the last six seasons. They invested close to €150 million last summer, so the real issue lies in their decision-making rather than raw spending.

Almost half of the money Tottenham spent ahead of this season was on one player: Dominic Solanke. While he has not performed poorly at all, a big-money striker should never have been Spurs’ top priority. They averaged close to two goals per game in the league last season, so their attack was doing fine. Instead, they could have made a couple of signings in the defensive department, and with hindsight, it is easy to see why going into the season with just three out-and-out centre-backs was a bad idea.

Postecoglu has certainly proven that he can take a full-strength squad to impressive heights, so Tottenham must aim to support him with appropriate squad building. As long as he can field something close to a first-choice XI, the Australian tactician should still be fully backed to succeed with Spurs.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Preview: Spurs and Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg

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Silverware symbolism

Ange Postecoglou’s assertion that he always wins silverware in his second season at a club will be tested as Tottenham come up against the best team in the country in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Spurs are struggling badly for league form having won just one of their last eight games. However, glory in the Carabao Cup would prove the North London outfit are still heading in the right direction.

There won’t be so much pressure on Liverpool such is their strong standing at the top of the Premier League table right now, but winning the first domestic trophy of the season would be symbolic for Arne Slot as the Reds’ new manager.

With both teams known for their attacking football, Tottenham and Liverpool could put on a spectacle. Indeed, there has been over 2.5 goals in eight of the last nine meetings between the two rivals.

Key players

While Tottenham have struggled for form in recent matches, Dominic Solanke has still impressed in the centre forward position, finding the back of the net in his most recent outing against Newcastle United on Saturday.

Dejan Kulusevski has also been a shining light for Spurs as a creative force in the final third. The Swede, along with Solanke, will be the biggest threat to the Liverpool defence on Wednesday night.

Son Heung-min could come into the lineup after starting on the bench against Newcastle with Brennan Johnson on the right side Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma in the central midfield unit.

Slot could rest some key players after a gruelling winter period, but Liverpool’s squad depth will see them still field a strong side that might include Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez in attack.

Conor Bradley is in line to start at right back and could steady Liverpool’s defence after a shaky performance by Trent Alexander-Arnold against Manchester United. Caoimhin Kelleher could start in goal.

Team news

Tottenham are still suffering something of an injury crisis with seven first team figures expected to be sidelined for the visit of Liverpool with a further two doubtful.

Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven’s absence in central defence has been keenly felt in recent weeks with Destiny Udogie also sidelined through injury. Radu Drăgușin could similarly miss out after coming off at half time of Saturday’s match against Newcastle due to illness.

Fraser Forster could return to the lineup after missing Tottenham’s last match through that same sickness bug, although Brandon Austin’s impressive display against Newcastle may see him keep his place in goal.

James Maddison and Pape Sarr are both suspended and while Richarlison is back in training, Tuesday’s match will surely come too early for the Brazilian forward.

Joe Gomez is still out injured for Liverpool with Dominik Szoboszlai a doubt after missing the 2-2 draw against Manchester United on Sunday.

Prediction

With the importance of balancing this first leg tie with ongoing Premier League commitments, we’re expecting a score draw that’ll leave everything to play for in next month’s second leg at Anfield: Tottenham 2-2 Liverpool

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

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Tottenham Hotspur is playing home against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sun, Dec 29, 2024, 15:00 UTC. This is Round 19 of the Premier League.

Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match.

The current head to head record for the teams are Tottenham Hotspur 7 win(s), Wolverhampton Wanderers 6 win(s), and 4 draw(s).

Have scored 13 goals in their last 5 matches

Heung-Min Son is ranked 3 in big chances created in the competition (12)

Have scored 7 goals in their last 5 matches

Have conceded the most penalties this season (5)

Tottenham Hotspur is playing home against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sun, Dec 29, 2024, 15:00 UTC. This is Round 19 of the Premier League.

Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match.

The current head to head record for the teams are Tottenham Hotspur 7 win(s), Wolverhampton Wanderers 6 win(s), and 4 draw(s).

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