Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton
All eyes will be on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday where two teams with high hopes for the 2020/21 campaign come face to face.
Premier League: Spurs vs Everton is a clash between two of the elder statesmen of the top flight; and a chance for both to show they have European credentials. We’re predicting a hard-fought game, here at SBOTOP, between two teams with plenty to prove.
Spurs will be trying, again, to end their trophy drought. This season it will be 60 years since the Whites won the league, 30 since they won the FA Cup and 13 years since they won any silverware at all, the League Cup, back in 2008.
Premier League ever-presents Everton haven’t done much better; the last time they climbed onto a podium was in 1995 when they won the FA Cup, so both sets of fans are long overdue a taste of real success.
Add the fact that two of the most successful head coaches in the game, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, will be in the dugouts then, you’d have to say, it’s time these two teams gave their supporters something to cheer.
Talking Points
Are Spurs capable of keeping up with the top four?
On their day they can be a force to be reckoned with, as they showed in a 3-0 victory over top four hopefuls Leicester City towards the end of the last season, but for most of the campaign, Spurs were languishing around mid-table. The break caused by COVID 19 did them a big favour as they picked up 18 points from their last nine games to finish in an acceptable sixth place.
Jose Mourinho has a full squad to choose from, a luxury he rarely had last season, and the signing of Southampton’s influential midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will add more strength to his midfield. He’s also picked up Wolves dependable right back, a position which has been a problem for Mourinho, so Spurs should expect a better first half of the season this time around.
Of course they will depend on captain Harry Kane for goals and he’s back again, fully fit and firing, but Spurs need to cope better without the departed Christian Eriksen than they did last term. Giovani Lo Celso looks like he could be a natural replacement and, in his second season in North London this could be the time for the Argentine to shine.
If he does, then a top four place might just be within Spurs’ reach, but they will be up against the improving Manchester United and Arsenal.
Time for Everton to deliver
The pressure is equally on Everton, who recovered well last season following the appointment of Ancelotti before fading in the run-in. When the new head coach arrived the Toffees were perilously close to the drop zone and, while he steadied the ship, a 12th place finish is a poor return for the Merseysiders, particularly in a season in which Liverpool won their first league title in 30 years!
In fairness, the Toffees had little to play for after the lockdown and a meek 3-0 surrender to Wolves made it clear that some players were heading for a summer break, and Ancelotti is painfully aware that they need to improve on the road. He says: “At home, we’ve done well since I’ve been here. Where we need to improve, and the players know, is away from Goodison.
“We were not good enough and this is a step we need to take next season.”
Ancelotti has made three exciting signings over the past week, bringing James Rodriguez from Real Madrid, Allan from Napoli and Abdoulaye Doucoure from relegated Watford. Those three additions will give the Toffees more impetus in the final third, which is good news for Brazilian striker Richarlison, who will hope to improve on his 15 goals from last season.
History
Spurs have won 26 of the 55 meetings in the Premier League era with 21 draws and just eight wins for the Toffees.
Mourinho’s men won this fixture 1-0 in July in an odd night for both teams. Toffees defender Michael Keane scored the only goal of the game, but in the wrong end, and Spurs’ normally calm keeper Hugo Lloris had to be separated from team-mate Heung-Min Son after he watched the South Korean winger react slowly to an Everton attack. Apart from those two pieces of action, it was a pretty dull affair so let’s hope for better Spurs vs Everton highlights this time around.
Tottenham will go into the game full of confidence, having won seven home games in a row, and they have not lost to Everton at home in their last 12 encounters.
Betting Tip
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Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton | Draw 1×2 @ 3.35 |
| September 13, 23:30 (GMT+8) |
Even though this is the season opener the stakes are high. Neither team wants to start off with a defeat and while the pre-match Spurs vs Everton betting odds have the hosts at 1.85 to win, I expect Everton to be very competitive.
And so, for an alternative bet, a scoreline of 1-1 will offer 5.99.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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