Tottenham’s 2023 concludes on New Year’s Eve as they welcome a red-hot Bournemouth to north London.
Gameweek 20 represents the start of the second half of the 2023/24 campaign with these two sides having already faced off back in August. Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison were on the scoresheet in a comfortable 2-0 away win.
The iteration of Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth that rocked up that day paled in comparison to their current resurgent selves. No team has picked up more Premier League points than the Cherries in their last six outings (16).
Given Tottenham’s extensive injury list and the importance of many players absent this weekend, you wouldn’t put it past Bournemouth to continue their rich vein of form.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the New Year’s Eve clash in N17.
Tottenham vs Bournemouth H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
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Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
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United Kingdom |
N/A |
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United States |
Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, nbcsports.com, Telemundo, USA Network, NBC Sports App |
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Canada |
fuboTV |
Dejan Kulusevski picked up his fifth booking of the season at Brighton and will miss Sunday’s game as a result. Thus, Spurs’ two scorers in the reverse fixture will be absent on Sunday. James Maddison is poised for a return to action next month.
While there have been positive injury updates regarding Micky van de Ven and Rodrigo Bentancur, both remain sidelined for this one. Cristian Romero is also out injured.
Kulusevski’s absence should see Giovani Lo Celso come back into the starting lineup.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Bournemouth (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Emerson, Davies, Udogie, Skipp, Lo Celso, Sarr; Johnson, Richarlison, Son.
Ryan Fredericks, Milos Kerkez and Lloyd Kelly all missed the Boxing Day win over Fulham which forced Dango Ouattara into a defensive position. Kerkez is the most likely to return to the fold this weekend.
Hamed Traore is a doubt due to illness, while Darren Randolph and Tyler Adams are long-term absentees.
Bournemouth predicted lineup vs Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Scott, Billing; Semenyo, Christie, Tavernier; Solanke.
Bournemouth tasted success on this ground last season, and they’re primed for another victory on Sunday. They’re currently playing as well as anyone in the Premier League, with the pressing ideals Iraola was famed for in Spain finally coming to pass.
Ange Postecoglou spoke about his side’s fatigue in the wake of Thursday’s defeat at Brighton, and there’s no doubt his side are currently running on fumes. However, given that they are at home, we should see an uptick in energy this weekend.
Thus, Spurs might find a way to grind their way to a point.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-2 Bournemouth
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