Tottenham Hotspur host West Bromich Albion on Tuesday at White Hart Lane looking to take another chip away at Leicester City’s lead at the top of the Premier League.
Spurs come off the back of an entertaining 4-0 win against Stoke last weekend, with Dele Alli and Harry Kane the heroes. Leicester had drawn with West Ham in a controversial match earlier, dropping crucial points. The gap to the leaders was slimmed down to five, and possibly could drop even further to two with three games to go after Tuesday’s match.
West Brom have not had the best time this season, with their recent game against Watford resulting in a loss, and their enounter with Arsenal on Wednesday night also ending the same way through two goals from Alexis Sanchez.
The Baggies are in 14th place in the Premier League table but have had some highs, particularly a win over Manchester United early last month. Since then, the losses have been consistent.
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Key Battle – Danny Rose vs Craig Dawson
Though defender against defender is not a traditional fight to look out for, Craig Dawson will have his hands full with Danny Rose. Dawson is a fullback by trade, but has been playing relatively well on the right-hand side of late. Rose is pacey and will run at the Baggies defender consistently, trying to whip those balls in to the box. However, Rose may be rested along with Walker, as Mauricio Pochettino likes to switch up his defence. His usual understudy Kieran Trippier will have to do the same job against Chris Brunt.
Team News
With the Baggies playing on Thursday night too, there may be some tired players that manager Tony Pulis will want to rest. This is a difficult task, however, with Tottenham always posing a tough challenge. West Brom are still without key player Brunt after a serious knee injury that has also shattered his dream of playing with Northern Ireland in the Euros.
The Spurs squad though is back to full fitness with the return of Jan Vertonghen a few weeks ago, though Pochettino may also wish to rest players against an arguably weaker side. Players like Kane and Alli could possibly be left on the bench, and Son Hueng-min could make a start. Tottenham’s next game is against Chelsea, which will be a big clash with a lot of pressure on the Spurs’ shoulders. Clinton N’Jie is also back in the squad after being out since December with a knee issue.
Head-to-Head
West Bromwich Albion seem to be a bit of a bogey team for Tottenham Hotspur as in their last 10 matches, the North Londoners have only won four times. The two sides have drawn five times, and West Brom have won once in the last 10 games.
Previous Meeting
Last time out, the game ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw for Tottenham back in December at the Hawthorns, with Spurs initially taking the lead through Alli in the 15th minute. James McLean then settled the scores with his first goal for the Baggies just before half time. The second-half failed to produce more goals.
Prediction
The momentum that Tottenham have at the moment is strong and will be a tough challenge to face for West Brom, particularly at White Hart Lane. However, the past results show that this is never an easy game, so it will definitely be close.
Tottenham 2 West Brom 1
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