Tottenham Hotspur will look to get back on track swiftly when they welcome a red-hot Bournemouth to North London on New Year’s Eve in their final game of 2023.
The mid-season recovery took a hit in midweek as Tottenham were put to the sword 4-2 by a rejuvenated Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek, which saw them drop out of the top four ahead of the game against Bournemouth. Ange Postecoglou’s side looked to be rediscovering their early campaign form with three consecutive wins before losing at the Amex.
The Lilywhites’ great start to the season has whittled away a bit in recent months, with injuries and suspensions to key players finally catching up with them. They are still short on numbers for Sunday’s home clash with Bournemouth, a side that are flying up the standings.
Things are finally clicking for the Cherries under Andoni Iraola, and their talented squad is looking really impressive every week. The south coast outfit have been in sensational form, picking up 19 points from a possible 21 in their past seven matches in the Premier League, lifting themselves up to 12th in the table.
They have most notably recorded four consecutive victories in a row over Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, and Fulham and will hope to extend this splendid run of results when they travel to North London to face Tottenham.
These two sides already faced off back in August in the reverse fixture. Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison were on the scoresheet in a routine 2-0 away win for Spurs. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News and Tactics
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham could be without as many as 11 players for this encounter against Bournemouth, with summer recruit Micky van de Ven still among the absentees. The Dutch defender went off against Chelsea with the game finely balanced at 1-1, and Spurs have not looked the same defensively since.
Manor Solomon (knee), Ivan Perisic (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle), James Maddison (ankle), and Cristian Romero (hamstring) all remain on the sidelines, although chief creator Maddison is moving ever closer to a comeback to training.
Yves Bissouma continues to serve a suspension for Spurs following a red card against Nottingham Forest and is joined by Dejan Kulusevski, who is struggling with a knock sustained against Brighton. But he is banned for this one due to yellow card accumulation regardless.
Romero and van de Ven’s absence means Emerson Royal and Ben Davies will again likely play at centre-back, while the absence of Bentancur or Bissouma means either Oliver Skipp or transfer-listed Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will partner Pape Matar Sarr in the engine room.
Giovani Lo Celso will be the attacking midfielder. Wingers Brennan Johnson and Son Heung-min will look to drift wide from time to time and stretch the pitch in the final third. Richarlison will lead the line for the home side, having been involved in seven goals in his last six Premier League home games for Spurs.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Emerson, Davies, Udogie; Skipp, Sarr; Johnson, Lo Celso, Son; Richarlison
Bournemouth
Bournemouth are currently playing as well as anyone in the Premier League, with the pressing and possession-based ideals head coach Andoni Iraola was famed for in Spain finally bearing fruit.
However, the Cherries are sweating over the fitness of Lewis Cook, while Tyler Adams (hamstring), Ryan Fredericks (calf), Lloyd Kelly (thigh), Hamed Traore (illness), and Emiliano Marcondes (ankle) are all still missing.
Milos Kerkez and Darren Randolph are both listed as doubtful, adding to the uncertainty surrounding Bournemouth’s starting lineup for the match. A return for Kerkez would see Dango Ouattara drop out of the starting XI, having operated as a makeshift left-back on Tuesday.
Talismanic striker Dominic Solanke is continuing to enjoy a remarkable campaign, with his strike against Fulham coming after his first Premier League hat-trick. The 26-year-old is now tied on 12 goals for the season with Mohamed Salah, with the duo only behind Erling Haaland in the Premier League goal-scoring charts.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Christie, Scott; Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier; Solanke
Key Stats
- This is Spurs’ first Premier League game on New Year’s Eve since 2011, a 1-1 draw at Swansea City.
- Bournemouth are unbeaten in seven league games, winning six.
- The Cherries’ have scored at least two goals in their last seven Premier League matches.
- After going unbeaten in their first ten league matches of the season, Tottenham have lost five of the next nine games.
- Bournemouth won this corresponding fixture 3-2 last term, having lost each of their first five away games against Tottenham in the Premier League.
Player to Watch
Dominic Solanke
It is hard to find a Premier League striker who can match Dominic Solanke’s run of form. He scored his 12th Premier League goal of the season in their Boxing Day victory, and he has found the back of the net eight times in his last seven Premier League games, netting three in a row for the first time in the competition.
The bustling Englishman will relish playing up against two full-backs, with plenty of space to cause all sorts of problems on the day. He has been getting plenty of chances in this attack-minded Bournemouth team and will look to add to his tally against a sloppy Tottenham defence.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Bournemouth
Ange Postecoglou’s men are increasingly stretched at the moment, with several currently running on empty tanks. However, given that they are at home, an uptick in energy could be expected this weekend. Bournemouth will fancy their chances of exposing Spurs’ leaky defence the same way Brighton did.
The free-flowing Cherries are playing with plenty of freedom right now, and it could prove to be an entertaining contest in north London, with The Hard Tackle backing Spurs to grind out a point with a 2-0 victory.
