TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 25th August 2012, 3pm
White Hart Lane

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Boss Steve Clarke has a fully fit squad to choose from with Graham Dorrans expected to return to the squad following his young daughter's recent illness.

Squad: Foster, Reid, Ridgewell, Olsson, McAuley, Yacob, Mulumbu, Morrison, Odemwingie, Gera, Long, Myhill, El Ghanassy, Rosenberg, Dorrans, Tamas, Jara, Lukaku, Jones, Allan, Thomas, Thorne, Brunt, Fortuné, Dawson.

Tottenham Hotspur

Luka Modric will not feature as Spurs look to finalise his move to Real Madrid but Emmanuel Adebayor is expected to make his debut, along with Jan Vertonghen, following transfers from Manchester City and Ajax respectively.

Scott Parker (Achilles), Giovani Dos Santos (muscle), Younes Kaboul (knee) and Heurelho Gomes (ankle) are all out.

Squad: Friedel, Gallas, Vertonghen, Walker,  Assou-Ekotto, Sandro, Livermore, Sigurdsson, Lennon, Defoe, Bale, Cudicini, Gomes, Kane, Caulker, Naughton, Dawson, Rose, Bentley, Townsend, Falqué, Jenas, Van der Vaart, Adebayor, Smith.

QUOTES

Albion head coach Steve Clarke:

“We like to set ourselves big challenges. I’ve always said it’s a crime not to push yourself to do as well as you can in any walk of life and that’s what we try to do.

“We’ll try to build on the performance and result last week and it’s a difficult place to go but we’ll relish the challenge. The players relish it as well, which is really good. 

“It was good for the first couple of days after beating Liverpool and then you have to move on.

“The games come thick and fast and we’ve got another difficult one this weekend. But we’ve prepared well, we’ve worked hard again this week and hopefully we’re in the same frame of mind going into this game.

“I said last weekend there will be many games where we don’t feel quite so good after it and that is a different challenge. It’s another challenge for me, I’ve got to face that, but I think I’m well prepared for those days as well.”

thesun.co.uk

Spurs' boss André Villas-Boas:

“Now we have a different type of game, a different proposition at home against West Brom.

“We have to be sensible because they had an extremely good result against Liverpool, they are a team that is deadly on the counter-attack, so we have to take that into account with how we attack and when we attack.

tottenhamhotspur.com

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 11/2 , Tottenham Win: 1/2 , Draw:  3/1.

First Goalscorer

Adebayor 10/3; Defoe 4/1; Kane 5/1; Van der Vaart 5/1; Bale 6/1; Sigurdsson 6/1; Lukaku 8/1; Odemwingie 8/1; Lennon 9/1; Long 9/1; Townsend 10/1; Rosenberg 10/1; Fortune 11/1; Carroll 16/1; Jenas 16/1; Brunt 16/1; Gera 16/1; Morrison 16/1.

REFEREE

Mike Dean (Wirral) - Refereed three Albion games last season: Stoke City (H, 0-1); Wigan Athletic (H, 1-2); Norwich City (H, 1-2).

TICKET INFORMATION

No tickets will be on sale to Albion fans at White Hart Lane on matchday.

WEATHER FORECAST

Scattered Thunderstorms, 19°C, 60% chance of rain.

FIXTURE HISTORY

Albion's last win in top flight action at White Hart Lane came almost 28 years ago in November 1984, Derek Statham (pen), Steve MacKenzie and David Cross the scorers in a 3-2 victory.

The Baggies have only won two of 12 Premier League matches against Spurs.

LAST MEETING AT WHITE HART LANE

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Albion 0
Barclays Premier League
Tuesday 3rd January 2012, 7.45pm

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, Gallas (Bassong 67), Assou-Ekotto, Van der Vaart, Modric, Sandro (Livermore 30), Bale, Adebayor, Defoe, Livermore (Kranjcar 77). Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Pavlyuchenko, Giovani, Rose.

Goalscorer: Defoe 63.

Albion: Foster, Jones, Dawson, McAuley, Shorey, Cox, Thorne (Tchoyi 79), Scharner, Dorrans (Morrison 65), Thomas (Jara Reyes 27), Odemwingie. Subs Not Used: Fulop, Mantom, Tamas, Fortune.

Booked: Thomas, Jones, Dorrans, Scharner, Cox.

Attendance: 36,062

Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).

Tottenham moved to within three points of second-placed Manchester United after Jermain Defoe finally broke through West Brom's stubborn resistance with a second-half winner at White Hart Lane. The striker, recalled after a month spent in the treatment room and on the bench, swivelled and poked home in the 63rd minute after holding off the challenge of four Baggies defenders. The goal came after a drab opening hour in which Tottenham looked anything but genuine title challengers. Sloppy passing, wayward finishing, and a failure to carve open an organised West Brom defence meant Spurs were in danger of passing up another opportunity to put pressure on United and leaders Manchester City, before Defoe reminded manager Harry Redknapp of his killer instinct with a precise finish from 10 yards to ensure they started 2012 with a win. Tottenham are now within striking distance of United and have a chance to confirm their status as contenders in their upcoming home games against Everton, Wolves and Wigan. One troubling note for Redknapp will be his ever-increasing injury list. Jake Livermore, William Gallas and Sandro all had to come off with injuries tonight and Spurs dearly missed the presence of Scott Parker and Ledley King, who were ruled out due to knee problems. After seeing their rivals stutter over the festive period, Spurs had a golden chance to establish their position as London's top team and make serious inroads in to the grip the two Manchester sides hold on the league. Injuries to Chris Brunt and Shane Long further boosted their hopes, but Parker's absence for the first time since he signed from West Ham left a gaping hole in Spurs' midfield.

Defoe, who has hinted he could seek to leave this month, looked keen to make a good impression, testing Ben Foster twice in the opening five minutes on a chilly night in north London. Foster punched clear a teasing cross from Gareth Bale before Jerome Thomas hacked down the Welshman down to give Spurs a dangerous free-kick which Van der Vaart wasted by firing in to the wall. The Dutchman quickly made amends by sneaking in front of his marker to clip a delicate shot with the outside of his boot which Foster tipped over at full stretch. West Brom were forced in to a change when Gonzalo Jara came on for Thomas and Sandro then had to come off for Tottenham just before the half hour after pulling up with an injury. Livermore took his place. Billy Jones put in a crucial block to deny Emmanuel Adebayor deep inside the Baggies' box after a one-two with Bale as Spurs continued to dominate. West Brom boss Roy Hodgson cut a worried figure on the edge of his technical area, barely taking his seat during the opening half. But despite their dominance, Spurs were failing to trouble Foster and organised defending from the visitors lead to an air of frustration inside the ground. Van der Vaart drilled a low shot towards goal but Foster saved and Redknapp shook his head in disappointment at the half-time whistle.

Adebayor's clever backheel found Defoe inside the box just after the break but the striker shinned his effort way over. He then flicked a deflected backheel of his own from Van der Vaart's cross that dribbled just wide. Graham Dorrans and Jones went in to the book for two late challenges on Bale after failing to handle the winger's pace. Craig Dawson flashed a header just wide in a rare West Brom attack before Spurs came close with a curling Luka Modric free-kick that sailed just wide. Sloppy passing led to further frustration, but concerns the game was heading for a goalless draw ended in the 63rd minute when Defoe bagged his 10th of the season. The ball ricocheted off Van der Vaart from Benoit Assou-Ekotto's cross and fell to Bale, who squared for Defoe. The England striker held off the challenge of the Baggies defence before turning and firing home with a low drive. A full-hearted celebration followed at the relief of finally breaking the deadlock and the tension eased at White Hart Lane. Tottenham's injury worries deepened soon after when Gallas hobbled off and was replaced by Sebastien Bassong. Defoe, now full of confidence, had a goalbound shot deflected wide before Redknapp was forced in to another change. A clash of heads between Younes Kaboul and Livermore left blood pouring from both players' heads and Livermore had to come off for Niko Kranjcar. A poor tackle from the Croatian allowed Simon Cox some space on the edge of the box but the forward blazed over. Brad Friedel then palmed away a strong effort from substitute Somen Tchoyi and Van der Vaart cleared desperately in the six-yard box as West Brom applied the pressure in search of a third. The match almost ended on a sour note as Bale charged angrily towards Simon Cox after being fouled by the Baggies player, but he was held back and Cox entered the book.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Spurs' goalkeeping coach Tony Parks spent a short time in the same role at The Hawthorns.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Gerry Armstrong, Freddie Cox, Garth Crooks, Tom Evans, Ruel Fox, Márton Fülöp, Charlie Hewitt, Colin Lyman, Chris Perry, Graham Roberts and Steve Walford.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

LAST TEN MATCHES AGAINST TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR