The race for UEFA Champions League berths might be one of many huge focuses on Boxing Day, when fourth place Nottingham Forest host Eleventh-ranked Tottenham Hotspur.
Forest, led by Spurs’ ex-manager Nuno Espirito Santo, are one of many shock storylines of the season and lead the pack within the top-four hunt, however will probably be a aggressive race to the end line. Solely 9 factors separate Forest from Thirteenth-place Manchester United, which means 10 groups really feel like a spot in Europe’s prime membership competitors is inside attain with half the season to go. That features Spurs, who’ve all of the instruments wanted to win on Thursday however should discover some stability to make sure they’ll stand up the desk within the second half of the marketing campaign.
This is what you want to know earlier than tuning in.
How you can watch and odds
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 26 | Time: 10 a.m. ET
- Location: Metropolis Floor — West Bridgford, England
- Reside stream: Peacock
- Odds: Nottingham Forest +135; Draw +260; Tottenham Hotspur +185
Storylines
Tottenham’s up-and-down season hit one other spherical of highs and lows within the final week alone, advancing to the EFL Cup quarterfinals after a 4-3 win over Manchester United after which dropping a wild 6-3 recreation to Liverpool on Sunday. The set of outcomes leaves them with simply three wins of their final 11 throughout all competitions, portray an image of inconsistency that has pissed off many after an optimistic begin underneath supervisor Ange Postecoglou final season.
Spurs are nonetheless the Premier League’s best-attacking facet, main the league with 39 objectives in 17 video games, overperforming their anticipated objectives tally of 32.46. It is a sign that at the least one thing goes proper for Postecoglou, who prefers an attack-minded tactical strategy and has overseen Spurs’ progress on this division. The workforce averages 2.3 objectives a recreation within the league this season, a big improve from their common of 1.9 objectives per recreation final marketing campaign from an identical anticipated objectives and shot rely. The objectives are coming from a variety of gamers, too – 5 gamers have seven-plus objectives throughout all competitions, together with shock main goalscorer Brennan Johnson and new addition Dominic Solanke.
The protection has been a degree of rivalry in latest weeks for Spurs, who’ve conceded 23 objectives of their final 11 video games. They’ve needed to play with out beginning goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and centerbacks Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven for a lot of this stretch, which has price them enormously. Vicario’s understudy Fraser Forster is a poor match for Postecoglou’s tactical strategy and has made a number of particular person errors that led to objectives, whereas back-up centerback Radu Dragusin was somebody Liverpool efficiently focused and uncovered over the weekend. Many have referred to as upon Postecoglou to alter up his stylistic preferences to account for the defensive points, although he’s standing by his techniques and advised that the change will not be as simple as some recommend.
“If individuals need me to alter my strategy, it is not going to alter,” Postecoglou mentioned post-match on Sunday, per the Night Normal. “We’re doing it for a motive, we’re doing it as a result of we expect it should assist us to achieve success. If individuals do not perceive the circumstances we’re in in the mean time, the challenges we’ve from a squad perspective that are as apparent as you wish to make them. I get the concept that individuals suppose that I ought to simply flip a change and alter and someway that can miraculously make us a greater workforce. It’s what it’s. I am simply going to proceed, keep centered on making an attempt to construct this workforce to be the workforce we would like. Within the interim we’re going to settle for there are going to be challenges alongside the way in which.”
Projected lineup
Tottenham: Forster, Porro, Dragusin, Grey, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke
Prediction
Tottenham have a capability to attain towards most groups, even these as defensively sturdy as Forest, who’ve conceded simply 19 objectives in league play this season. The guests can even have the benefit of taking part in towards a workforce that doesn’t rating so much – Forest have simply 23 objectives this season – however their potential to concede off of foolish errors may power the groups to share the factors. Choose: Nottingham Forest 1, Tottenham Hotspur 1
