Tottenham Hotspur look to bounce back from a disappointing opening-day draw as they host Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides are eager to rectify their underwhelming starts to the Premier League season, paving the way for a closely contested showdown in north London.
Tickets for the game are expected to be a hot commodity this weekend, but Seatsnet.com remains an ideal secondary marketplace for those looking to book a place in the stands.
The Lilywhites failed to capitalise on their early dominance against newly-promoted Leicester City and were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium.
37-year-old Jamie Vardy once again showed his class against one of the Premier League’s elite.
The Foxes talisman was not even supposed to make the squad on Monday, but he passed a late fitness test and made Tottenham pay for their wastefulness in the final third and woeful defending.
The visitors started brightly, with former Leicester favourite James Maddison setting up Pedro Porro for a well-taken opener.
While Ange Postecoglou’s side deservedly broke the deadlock, Tottenham’s joy was short-lived as Vardy capitalised on some sloppy defending to equalise with a powerful second-half header.
The match was marred by a serious head injury to Rodrigo Bentancur, which forced a lengthy stoppage. He was subsequently given oxygen and stretchered off.
While the incident was undoubtedly a cause for concern, it inadvertently gave Tottenham a chance to regroup after Leicester had begun to assert themselves.
Failure to overcome last season’s Championship winners means that Tottenham now won just two of their last eight Premier League games stretching back to last season.
They haven’t failed to win any of their opening two games of a Premier League season since the 2015/16 campaign, but they’ll need a significantly better performance to beat the Toffees in north London.
Spurs have also won their opening home game in five of the last six Premier League seasons. Ironically, their only defeat in such games came against Everton in 2020.
Meanwhile, the Toffees got off to a disastrous start to the 2024/25 Premier League season, falling to a disheartening 3-0 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park.
The defeat has left them rooted to the bottom of the table on goal difference.
The Seagulls ran riot in Merseyside, with Kaoru Mitoma, Danny Welbeck, and Simon Adingra all finding the net.
The Toffees’ misery was compounded when Ashley Young was sent off for a last-man foul midway through the second half.
The loss marked Everton’s heaviest defeat of the opening weekend.
Manager Sean Dyche described the performance as “horrible” and admitted that his side was outplayed in every department.
The defeat marked Everton’s third consecutive loss in August, extending a worrying trend that has seen them winless in the month for three years.
They’ve lost each of their last four such games without finding the back of the net, and it’ll take some giant slaying performance to set that record straight this weekend.
Everton’s away form is also a major concern. They have now gone seven games without a win on the road in the Premier League this year, including a 2-2 draw against Tottenham in February.
Match Preview
Tottenham have established a formidable record against Everton in the Premier League, boasting an impressive goal tally and a recent history of dominance on home turf.
The north London club have scored more Premier League goals against Everton both overall (102) and at home (63) than they have against any other opponent.
Tottenham’s home form against Everton has been particularly impressive in recent seasons.
They have won their opening home match in five of the last six campaigns, although the last time they failed to secure victory was in 2020/21 when they lost 1-0 to Everton.
While their start to the 2024/25 season was far from ideal, they’ll feel fairly confident about putting a win on the board sooner rather than later.
The last time they failed to win either of their first two games in a single season was back in 2015/16 (D1, L1).
Since joining Tottenham from Everton in 2022, Richarlison has scored three Premier League goals against the Toffees, with all three coming in last season’s two meetings.
Only Wayne Rooney (4) has scored more goals against Everton than Richarlison among players who have previously played for the club.
Everton’s Premier League struggles have reached a new low as the club continues to grapple with a series of disappointing results.
The Toffees’ recent form has been particularly concerning, and their alarming statistics against Tottenham don’t bode well for a resurgence.
Everton have managed just one victory in their last 23 Premier League encounters with Spurs (D11, L11), a 1-0 win away from home in September 2020 under Carlo Ancelotti.
Trips to the capital haven’t been kind to Everton either.
They’ve won just three of their last 20 Premier League away games against London sides (D6, L11), with those victories coming consecutively last season.
Everton haven’t won a Premier League game in August in any of the last three seasons (D3, L6), losing each of their last four such games without scoring. Their last such victory was in 2021 at Brighton (2-0).
The Toffees have started the season in similar fashion as the previous two and are on the cusp of being the only team to lose their opening two games in three consecutive Premier League campaigns.
Despite a brief resurgence last season, Everton’s away form has once again deteriorated.
The club has gone 11 games without a win on the road (D4, L7), with nine of those matches taking place in 2024.
Team news & potential line-ups
Premier League rules forbid Bentancur from featuring in the game against Everton after he suffered a horrible head injury against Leicester.
Porro is also doubtful after he was subbed off late on against the Foxes with a foot problem, but Yves Bissouma returns to the fold after serving a one-game ban.
The Malian defensive midfielder was suspended due to off-field indiscretions but is in line to anchor the midfield alongside Pape Matar Sarr.
Meanwhile, Ashley Young will serve a one-match ban, which poses a major headache for Dyche as he’s also without Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson.
James Garner, who can slot in at right-back, is also out with a calf problem, but Jarrad Branthwaite’s potential return offers the Toffees a glimmer of hope.
Tottenham Hotspur potential starting line-up:
(4-2-3-1): Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie; Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma; Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Heung-min Son; Richarlison.
Everton potential starting line-up:
(4-5-1): Jordan Pickford; Mason Holgate, Jake O’Brien, Michael Keane, Vitaly Mykolenko; Jack Harrison, Tim Iroegbunam, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye, Dwight McNeil; Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
