Sunderland will host Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday when the Premier League resumes after last night’s round of Boxing Day action.
The Black Cats are fresh from a 1-0 victory over reigning English champions Manchester City, and will be looking forward to securing their 3rd successive league win.
Tottenham have also been in fine form, managing a good round of results in their last 6 games. Spurs have only lost once and drawn once in their past 6 league games, and sit at 4th spot after last night’s impressive 0-4 win over Aston Villa.
Sunderland are 13th on the league table, and have managed 3 victories in their last 6 league games. With the way the league is currently going, it is difficult to predict a result, but Tottenham will be favourites going into the match. Sunderland
do have the home advantage, and may be able to frustrate the visitors if they manage to score and hang on to the lead.
Villas-Boas will be targeting all 4 points, but then again, so will Martin O’ Neill.
Sunderland
Expected starting line-up:
Simon Mignolet, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/James-McClean-c17703, Steven Fletcher, Stephane Sessegnon.
Sunderland are expected to field the same team which managed a shock victory over Manchester City last night. The back four remains the same, and so does the midfield.
Adam Johnson slots in at the right flank, with James McClean accompanying him on the left, providing Sunderland with width and pace. Gardner and Larsson will pair alongside each other in midfield, and will have Sessegnon and Fletcher ahead of them in a two-pronged
attack.
Johnson will be eager to continue his goal scoring tally after getting on the score sheet against former club Manchester City last night. The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 winger was deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad Stadium and thus had moved to Wearside during the
summer.
Sunderland will be eager to get a result against Tottenham, and will be high on confidence after last night’s victory.
Tottenham Hotspur
Expected starting line-up:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jermain-Defoe-c18359.
Tottenham are also expected to field out the same exact team which managed the 4-0 victory over Aston Villa last night.
Other than that, the back four remains the same, with Gallas and Walker accompanying Naughton and Vertonghen.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto is still a few days away from first team action, so Kyle Naughton will slot in at left-back. After last night’s impressive performance, the youngster will be high on confidence.
Scott Parker has made his return from injury but is still not expected to start the game. Thus, Sandro and Dembele will pair alongside each other in central midfield, with Lennon and Bale on the wings.
Bale grabbed a hat-trick last night, and will be looking to improve his goal tally. Lennon also had an influential game, providing dangerous crosses for Adebayor and Defoe to feed on.
Up front, Adebayor and Defoe will start in a two-pronged Spurs attack. Tottenham are a stronger team on paper, and will be looking to take the game to Sunderland.
Final Predicted Score: 1-2
I expect Tottenham to manage a fairly comfortable victory against the Black Cats, but concede a goal along the way. With the form Bale, Defoe and Dembele have been in recently, Tottenham are likely to win the game through their attacking flair and tenacity.
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