15.00GMT/16.00CET Tottenham Hotspur v West Bromich Albian [Premier League]

On Boxing Day Tottenham Hotspur welcome the Baggies to London for a nail-biting match where victories hold different meanings to either of the teams. For one, its a fight to survive and for the other a fight to be called a top club.

Tottenham face their opponents high on a victory against Southampton as they plan to inch closer to the top four. After a hard fought 3-2 victory against the Saints, Tim Sherwood looks to show all opponents that he means business. His formation change coupled with Adebayor’s recent form could prove fatal for the Opponents. A victory would take them to 33 points inching closer to the top 4.

WBA on the other hand struggling at 16th place look towards a victory to leap frog Aston Villa, Norwich and Cardiff (provided the three teams remain at the same points) and avoid dropping to the relegation zone. Coming back from a 1-1 draw against Hull at home, WBA need to perform to avoid falling into the relegation zone.




Tottenham Hotspur

Now armed with two regular center backs and Rose back to full fitness, Sherwood has a solid defense for the upcoming fixture. Lloris will be at goal with Walker on the right and Rose on the left. Dawson and Chiriches will complete the defense in the center half roles.

The midfield will be with a tried and tested line up with Dembele playing a deeper center mid and Eriksen a more attacking role. Sigurdsson’s performance against the saints will earn him the left mid position and Lamela starting to get more regular in the premier league will occupy the right. We could see Holtby in action in the second half and the youngster Bentaleb contributing in the last few minutes of the game.

Adebayor’s exceptional performance in the weekend will earn him the spot along with Soldado who has the most number of Assists among all Tottenham players this season. Defoe like the previous game will be on the bench and brought on to make his pacey runs in the dying minutes of the game.


West Bromwich Albion

Keith Downing is set to start with Foster on goal. Foster’s return from injury has been a blessing for the team. The ex- Man Utd keeper put up a reasonable show against Hull and is only recovering day by day from his injuries. Jones will play on the right wing and Ridgwell on the left. McAuley and Olsson will complete the back four.

Downing similar to the Hull match would prefer to play a two man deep and three man advanced midfield formation. Chris Brunt and Youssouf Mulumbu seem the obvious choice to play the defensive mid role. The hard-working Sessengnon, Morrison and Scott Sinclair are the favoured midfielders.

Downing would opt to start with the reliable striker Shane Long, however the goal from Vyadra in their clash against Hull could see him introduced in the second half. Anichebe looks doubtful for this game as well due to injury and is yet to resume training after picking up a groin injury.



Key Facts
◾Soldado has most number of Assists among all Tottenham players this season
◾Spurs have the worst home record of the top ten clubs, winning only 3 of 8
◾WBA have never won at white Hart Lane in a Premier League Fixture
◾WBA’s only away victory this season was at Old Trafford




AdebayorThe 29 year old had fallen out of favour of the former Spurs manager AVB. He was asked to train alone for a while and then with the reserves. They even tried off loading him.Now Sherwood has recalled his services and Adebayor has shown to the Spurs fans what they have been missing, a striker who scores. Adebayor is on fire, after scoring one against West Ham in the Capital One Cup and a brace against Southhampton he will only look to better his performance as he plans to shut his critiques up.