Two of the Premier League's bottom-half battlers collide successful their last lucifer of 2024, arsenic an off-colour Tottenham Hotspur invited a reborn Wolverhampton Wanderers to their North London base.
The Lilywhites' Boxing Day scrap with Nottingham Forest ended successful a dismal 1-0 defeat, a mates of hours earlier Vitor Pereira's Wolves rejoiced successful conquering Manchester United by two goals to nil.
Match preview
© Imago
A penny for the thoughts of Daniel Levy erstwhile the last whistle blew astatine the City Ground connected Thursday, arsenic the antheral helium gave the footwear to aft conscionable 17 games successful 2021 enhanced Nottingham Forest's Champions League credentials astatine the disbursal of Spurs' continental hopes altogether.
Nuno Espirito Santo's ill-fated Tottenham stint is champion consigned to the bottommost of his CV, but the Portuguese avenged his 2021 sacking from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium erstwhile Anthony Elanga prodded his 3rd extremity successful arsenic galore games past the onrushing Fraser Forster.
A hitherto entertaining Tottenham onslaught were bereft of ideas against the inspired pairing of Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo, arsenic Ange Postecoglou's off-colour Lilywhites fell to their 2nd consecutive Premier League decision and an embarrassing 4th from their past 5 matches successful the apical flight.
A acold outcry from the all-conquering Spurs squad of Postecoglou's earliest weeks successful charge, Tottenham are inactive entrenched successful the bottommost fractional of the Premier League standings - contempt being the second-best attacking squad successful the part down leaders Liverpool - and present person a paltry 3 wins adjacent to their sanction from their past 12 matches successful each tournaments.
If thing else, Postecoglou's Tottenham seldom neglect to enactment connected a spectacle astatine their North London home; the past 3 matches astatine the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium person seen a monumental 23 goals - implicit 7 a crippled connected mean - and some teams person scored successful each of Spurs' past 8 contests connected their ain patch.
© Imago
Experiencing the feeling that Tottenham did erstwhile Postecoglou archetypal arrived, Wolves are basking successful the caller manager bounce glow nether Pereira, who followed up his opening occurrence implicit Leicester City with a connection triumph implicit Ruben Amorim's Manchester United connected December 26.
Playing astir the full 2nd fractional with a numerical vantage acknowledgment to different Bruno Fernandes reddish card, Wolves sparked Molineux mayhem erstwhile Matheus Cunha scored straight from a corner, earlier the superb Brazilian teed up Hwang Hee-chan to enactment the necktie to bed.
Wolves' 2nd consecutive Premier League triumph coupled with Leicester City going down 3-1 astatine Liverpool means that the visitors to North London person changeable retired of the Premier League relegation zone, though it volition lone instrumentality 1 dissatisfactory effect for the 17th-placed Old Gold to plunge backmost down into danger.
However, Wolves person a humanities and superstitious crushed for optimism this weekend, wherever they could triumph 3 consecutive Premier League games for the archetypal clip since coincidentally winning each of their last 3 matches of 2023 against Chelsea, Brentford and Everton.
Sticking with the taxable of bully things coming successful threes, Wolves person managed to get the amended of Tottenham successful each of their past 3 Premier League head-to-heads, doing the treble implicit Postecoglou's men successful the 2023-24 play by a 2-1 scoreline connected some occasions.
Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:
Tottenham Hotspur signifier (all competitions):
Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League form:
Team News
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Postecoglou was already moving astir a decimated defence earlier Christmas, and the Australian's rearguard volition beryllium adjacent much ravaged for Sunday's game, which Djed Spence misses done suspension aft seeing reddish astatine his erstwhile location connected Boxing Day.
Radu Dragusin is besides a superior uncertainty aft hurting his ankle successful the nonaccomplishment to Forest, portion Ben Davies (hamstring), Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Micky van de Ven (thigh), Cristian Romero (thigh), Wilson Odobert (hamstring) and Richarlison (hamstring) are inactive confined to the infirmary arsenic well.
Dragusin's imaginable lack would deprive Postecoglou of each elder centre-back successful his ranks, meaning that helium whitethorn person nary prime but to present 19-year-old Alfie Dorrington alongside 18-year-old Archie Gray, unless Yves Bissouma starts arsenic an exigency defender.
Wolves person nary specified crises to interest astir for Sunday's travel south, and determination is anticipation that midfield lynchpin Mario Lemina mightiness beryllium acceptable to diagnostic aft a calf wounded kept him retired of the triumph implicit Man United.
Spanish winger Pablo Sarabia is expected to miss retired with a akin concern, though, portion Sasa Kalajdzic, Boubacar Traore, Enso Gonzalez and Yerson Mosquera stay connected the agelong roadworthy to betterment from genu injuries.
Almost each of the Old Gold's starters from the Boxing Day occurrence should beryllium retained, but Hwang mightiness person made his lawsuit to travel successful for Goncalo Guedes aft yet getting disconnected the people for the Premier League play past clip out.
Tottenham Hotspur imaginable starting lineup:
Forster; Porro, Gray, Dorrington, Udogie; Bergvall, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Solanke
Wolverhampton Wanderers imaginable starting lineup:
Sa; Doherty, S. Bueno, Toti; Semedo, Andre, J. Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Guedes, Cunha; Larsen
We say: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
It takes a brave psyche to confidently foretell which mentation of Tottenham's onslaught is going to amusement up - the chaotic oregon clueless 1 - but Postecoglou's men tin beryllium expected to conflict against a Wolves broadside who should not spend them overmuch abstraction successful the last third.
Pereira's men could beryllium forgiven for playing for a constituent successful North London, and specified is the visitors' level of assurance close present that they tin surely lucifer thing that an inconsistent Spurs propulsion astatine them, portion besides capitalising connected their hosts' depleted defence.
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