 | #2. Tottenham Hotspur versus EvertonLocation: White Hart Lane (London)Date: Saturday, October 24 Time: 7:45 a.m. Eastern Records (W-D-L, +/-, Place): Spurs, 4-2-2, +3, 5th Everton, 4-2-2, +3, 5th |  |
English Premier League Week 9 Preview: Injury Ravaged Everton Travel To White Hart Lane
After their odd Champions League match against Inter Milan, Tottenham Hotspur will be looking for a considerably more stable and consistent performance in the league. Everton are flying high after the Merseyside derby win over Liverpool, but every midfielder in the history over ever got injured in that match. As a result, David Moyes is going to have to get creative.
Both teams are in decent form in the league and hungry to improve their league position. Everton finally look to be playing to their potential, while Spurs' wins over Fulham and Aston Villa could prove to be key in the race for European places. Everton have ascended from the drop zone to 11th place, only two points from seventh, which will likely be the likely last European place. Despite a couple of poor results, Spurs are quietly sitting in fifth.
Don’t expect boring football here, folks. Despite Everton’s injuries, David Moyes’ side will still look to attack. With the attacking personnel at his disposal, Harry Redknapp’s team will too. To use a college/high school football cliche, it’s going to be a barn burner. If you’re an American, get your rear end out of bed at the crack of dawn and flip on the telly, it’ll be worth it.
Projected Lineup, Everton (4-4-2): Howard - Baines, Distin, Jagielka, Hibbert - Bilyaletdinov, Cahill, Neville, Coleman - Yakubu, Beckford
Projected Lineup, Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-1-1): Gomes - Assou-Ekotto, Bassong, Gallas, Hutton - Bale, Modric, Huddlestone, Lennon - van der Vaart - Crouch
Key Battle: Luka Modric isn't known for his crunching tackles or skillful defending, but in this setup, he'll have to do a bit of it and might have a couple of run-ins with Tim Cahill. Due to Everton's injuries, Cahill is really the only player that Spurs have to be really worried about. He's a match winner, and Everton's other match winners are injured. Tom Huddlestone can't handle the athletic Cahill by himself, so Modric is going to have to bring his rarely seen defensive game.
Battle Within The Battle: Luka Modric vs. his brain. He really likes to get forward and occupy the same spaces as Rafael van der Vaart does. If he doesn’t stay disciplined in the middle, Spurs are going to have some serious crowding in one area of the pitch and potentially get burned on the counter-attack. Tommorow, Luka Modric is likely to be a central midfielder. He should put those trequarista instincts on the back burner and save them for another time.
Pick: Everton’s injuries are the biggest difference here. Spurs are just too good for the makeshift midfield that Everton are going to have to play tomorrow. With everyone healthy, these teams are almost dead even. Tomorrow, that will not be the case. Tim Cahill will nick a goal anyway, despite Spurs controlling the game from minute one to minute ninety. Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Crouch, Bale), Everton 1 (Cahill).
See More:
