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ARSENAL FC
White Hart Lane, London
16th May, Saturday; 14:00 GMT
Tottenham Hotspur take on relegation-threatened Hull City for a crucial Premier League game on Saturday. Spurs have not won a single game in their 3 appearances. A win against Hull City would comfortably place them among top 6 teams and help them to make it to Europa League next season.
Hull City, on the other hand, are placed in the 19th position in the League table. Steve Brucea s men are playing in an inconsistent manner. After defeating giants Liverpool, they lost back to back to games in May. A win will be a huge boost in their game and they can move above Newcastle United. Even a point against a formidable Spurs side will be more than enough for Steve Brucea s men.
Team News & Tactical Brief
Tottenham Hotspur FC
Tottenham Hotspur will miss the services of defender Vlad Chiriches who was sent off last week against Stoke City with a double booking. Also striker, Emanuel Adebayor will remain out of action due to illness. Full-backs Kyle Walker and Ben Davies will both miss the game due to foot and shoulder injury. Only good news is that their star left-back Danny Rose has recovered completely and will feature in the game. Mauricio Pochettino will likely stick to his 4-2-3-1 formation with prolific goal scorer Harry Kane upfront. All eyes will be on the English heartthrob who will have to guide his team to a much-needed victory.
Probable Line-up (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Dier, Fazio, Vertonghen, Rose; Bentaleb, Mason; Chadli, Lamela, Eriksen; Kane
Hull City A.F.C
Hull City who are struggling in the relegation zone will look forward to clinching at least a point against Tottenham in a crucial away game. Manager, Steve Bruce will stick to his 3-5-2 formation but may make a few changes into the starting lineup. Their most influential striker Nikica Jelavic will be back in the squad in all probability. Jelavic who is recovering from an injury came off the bench last week against Burnely. Also, midfielder Jake Livermore has been suspended by the club on disciplinary grounds. David Meyler who has recovered properly may replace Livermore in the midfield.
Probable Line-up (3-5-2): Harper; Chester, Dawson, McShane; Mohamady, Huddlestone, Meyler, Quinn, Brady; Jelavic, Aluko
Key Stats
- Tottenham Hotspur have not won a single game in their last three Premier League matches.
- Hull City is looking extremely inconsistent in the recent few weeks. After defeating Liverpool in the last week of April, they have lost their last two matches which include last weeka s defeat against Burnley.
- Hull City have never won a Premier League match in May.
- Spurs have failed to score in their last two PL games; theya ve not gone three in a row without a goal since November 2013
Key Players
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur FC)
Harry Kane is the most influential player in this Tottenham Hotspur side. The English youngster flourished heavily in this season as he scored 20 goals and provided 4 assists in the Premier League so far. Pochettino is heavily dependent on his English striker and Kane has to fire to help Tottenham secure a win against relegation-threatened Hull City. The opponent defenders will have to vigilant in order to stop the English goal machine. Harry Kanea s goals and assists have helped his club to secure 26 points this season which is more than any other player in the Premier League. This reflects the immense influence of Kane on Tottenham.
Nikica Jelavic (Hull City AFC)
Hull Citya s most important player, striker Nikica Jelavic is likely to come back into the starting XI. He was out of action due to injury but made a late appearance in last weeka s game against Burnley. Jelavic has scored 8 goals in this season so far which is highest among all Hull City players. The Tottenham backline will have to mark the Croatian international properly in order to avoid dangers in front of their penalty box.
Final Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Hull City 0
Both the teams are having a rough patch in recent times as neither of the sides could register a win their last two league matches. But on paper Spurs have a much better side and are expected to win comfortably against a weaker opponent like Hull City whose survival in the top tier is in question. We Predict a 2-0 result in favour of the home side Tottenham Hotspur.
Blast From The Past
Roberto Soldado scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot to give Spurs the victory last time around.