Matchday: Tottenham v Everton – Updated

Tottenham welcome Everton to White Hart Lane Saturday in hopes that they’ll make easy prey. After two draws and no wins out of their first three games, Spurs will be desperate to get the full three points out of this game.

Everton might find it difficult to prevent Tottenham from doing just that. Many of their first team regulars played for much or all of the Blues’ extra time 5-3 win over League One side Barnsley on Wednesday night. Their exhaustion might suit Mauricio Pochettino and his Spurs team just fine.

It won’t be as easy as all of that, of course. Tottenham have made a habit of making games difficult for themselves, and even tired Everton can prove a real threat on the counterattack. Eric Dier will be given the game of his young career at defensive midfield while Harry Kane will be anxious to get his first goal of the season.

Let’s take a look at the lineups from both teams.

Tottenham:

Everton:

Bit of a surprise in Tottenham’s lineup that both Nabil Bentaleb AND Ryan Mason are included. Should we expect a 4-3-3 or will Mason perhaps play in a more forward role similar to Christian Eriksen’s? Also, Danny Rose is back! And Alex Pritchard’s on the bench! No Dele Alli however. Unfortunate.

Everton are about as expected but for the inclusion of leftback Bryan Oviedo. Dier and Bentaleb will likely both sit deep to contain the Lukaku/Barkley/Koné trifecta attack.

We’ll be back at halftime hopefully overflowing with praise for Tottenham’s dominance of the first half.

Next: Halftime Reaction