Tottenham Hotspur will take on Preston North End in the FA Cup on Saturday, hoping to book their place in the fifth round with a victory away from home.
Tottenham Hotspur managed to pick up a narrow win over Fulham in the last outing and will be fairly confident of grinding out a result against Championship outfit Preston North End this weekend.
The north Londoners bounced back from consecutive defeats against Arsenal and Manchester City with a 1-0 win over Fulham on Monday night. Meanwhile, Preston North End come into this game on the back of four defeats from their last five home matches.
They will need to improve immensely in order to grind out a result against the north London club. And it remains to be seen whether the Preston players can step up and produce a match-winning performance here.
💬 Ryan Lowe wants his Preston North End side to go and express themselves this weekend when they take on Tottenham Hotspur. 👇#pnefc
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) January 26, 2023
Team News & Tactics
Preston North End
The home side will be without the services of Emil Riis, Sean Maguire, Benjamin Whiteman, and Brad Potts because of injury problems. Liam Delap and Troy Parrott are ineligible to face the Premier League side at the weekend.
Preston North End are likely to set up in a 3-5-2 formation against Tottenham with Freddie Woodman in goal. The back three will comprise of Jordan Storey, Liam Lindsay, and Andrew Hughes.
Alan Browne and Alvaro Fernandez are likely to line up as the wing-backs here, and they will look to contribute to both phases of the play. They will be expected to provide an outlet during counter-attacks and shield the back three as well.
Alistair McCann will partner Ryan Ledson and Daniel Johnson at the heart of the Preston midfield. Finally, Ched Evans is likely to lead the line for Preston alongside Thomas Cannon, with the duo forming the strike partnership.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Browne, McCann, Ledson, Johnson, Fernandez; Evans, Cannon
Tottenham
Antonio Conte has no major injury concerns heading into this game. So the Tottenham Hotspur manager should be able to field a full-strength lineup against Preston North End this weekend.
“Arnaut Danjuma is available. We have only one problem with Harry.”
Cristian Stellini gives a team news update ahead of the @EmiratesFACup clash with Preston this weekend 🗣 pic.twitter.com/vcxkIL4ODx
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 27, 2023
Conte is likely to set up in a 3-4-3 formation with Fraser Forster in goal. In the back three, Japhet Tanganga is likely to be handed a rare start here alongside Davinson Sanchez and Ben Davies. Matt Doherty and Ryan Sessegnon will start as the wing-backs, and they will look to provide creativity and width while going forward.
Youngsters Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr will start as the central midfielders here. And the duo will look to add creativity and control in the middle of the park. Conte is likely to field his preferred front three here, with Harry Kane leading the line. Finally, Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski will start as the wide forwards here.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Froster; Tanganga, Sanchez, Davies; Doherty, Skipp, Sarr, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Richarlison
Key Stats
- Tottenham have won 30 of their 68 clashes against Preston North End, losing 21 times.
- Preston North End have not reached the FA Cup fifth round since the 2014/15 campaign, with this only their second appearance in the fourth round since then (1-0 defeat vs Sheffield United in the 2014/15 season).
- Harry Kane has scored 14 goals in his last 14 appearances in the FA Cup for Tottenham Hotspur.
- Tottenham Hotspur are looking to reach the FA Cup fifth round for a fourth consecutive season.
- Preston have not faced Spurs in any competition since September 2009, when they lost 5-1 in a League Cup tie
Player to Watch
Harry Kane
The man 🔥
The moment 🔥Goal number 266 for @HKane… pic.twitter.com/uGytdOBCSS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 24, 2023
The England international will be desperate to win a trophy this season, and he will feel that the FA Cup is Tottenham’s best chance of securing silverware this season. Kane has been in red-hot form this season and he could cause all sorts of problems for the Preston defence this weekend.
The 29-year-old has 18 goals across all competitions, and he will fancy his chances of scoring against the vulnerable Preston North End defence at the weekend. And with Kane open to signing a new contract with Tottenham, he can make his case for an enormous hike with a scintillating display.
Prediction
Preston North End 1-2 Tottenham
Tottenham have not been at their best this season, and they will need to work hard in order to grind out a positive result here. Preston North End have struggled at home in recent weeks, and this will be a difficult encounter for them.
The home side are unlikely to roll over for Spurs here, but they will look to put up a fight. This should be a close contest and Spurs should be able to grind out the all-important result here. The Hard Tackle predicts a narrow 2-1 win for Tottenham over Preston North End away from home.
