TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
v WEST BROMWICH ALBION Barclays Premier League
Thursday 26th December 2013, 3:00pm White Hart Lane
MATCH
NOTES
The game will be the 137th league and cup meeting between Albion and Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs have a slight edge in terms of victories with 54 compared to the Baggies'
52.
Albion and Spurs have met three times before on
Boxing Day - the first game taking place in 1955 when the Baggies travelled to
White Hart Lane and lost 4-1. The second meeting on December 26 came in 1963
when the teams shared eight goals in a thriller at The Hawthorns, whilst the
third game, in 1966, and again at The Hawthorns, saw Albion run out 3-0 winners
thanks to a Tony Brown hat-trick.
Spurs' last defeat on Boxing Day came in 2003 when
they lost 2-0 to Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Since that defeat they have played
eight games on December 26, winning six and drawing two.
Albion's last six games:
Hull City (H) 1-1; Cardiff City
(A) 0-1; Norwich City (H) 0-2; Manchester City (H) 2-3; Newcastle United (A)
1-2; Aston Villa (H) 2-2
Spurs' last six games: Southampton (A) 3-2; West
Ham United (H, LC) 1-2; Liverpool (H) 0-5; Anzhi Makhachkala (H, EL) 4-1;
Sunderland (A) 1-2; Fulham (A) 1-2
TEAM
NEWS
Albion
Stand-in boss Keith Downing has a fully-fit squad
to choose from with the exception of striker Victor Anichebe who is doubtful
with a groin injury.
Squad:
Foster, Myhill, Daniels,
Jones, Ridgewell, Olsson, McAuley, Lugano, Brunt, Sessegnon, Amalfitano, Mulumbu,
Berahino, Yacob, Anichebe, Vydra, Long, Anelka, Morrison, Popov, Dawson, Reid,
Sinclair, Gera, Rosenberg.
Tottenham Hotspur
New Spurs’ boss Tim Sherwood will be without Aaron Lennon
(abdomen), Harry Kane (back), Younes Kaboul (thigh), Paulinho (suspended),
Andros Townsend (hamstring) and Jan Vertonghen (ankle), but midfielder Mousa
Dembele should be available despite twisting his ankle in last weekend's win
over Southampton.
Squad:
Lloris, Friedel, Walker,
Naughton, Rose, Fryers, Dawson, Chiriches, Capoue, Dembele, Sigurdsson, Eriksen,
Chadli, Bentaleb, Fredericks, Lamela, Holtby, Adebayor, Defoe, Soldado.
QUOTES
Albion caretaker boss Keith
Downing:
“I think we’ve witnessed in the last couple of games
Tottenham have been very open and very attack-minded. I went down to watch them
against West Ham, admittedly there were a few changes because it was a cup game,
but their philosophy was very much attack-minded and a positive approach. It was
very much like Spurs under Harry Redknapp with two wingers attacking at pace. I
wouldn’t imagine there will be much change to that. They’ll target our game as a
home win so we need to defend very well and be strong and resolute.
“Results dictate people’s moods. Confidence has to be an
issue. How you get people to change their confidence and get upbeat is obviously
about results. That’s the be-all and end-all. At the moment there is just that
little uncertainty. Once everything is sorted I think things will settle down
pretty quick.
“I’ve changed a little bit of the training schedule to try
and make things a little bit enjoyable and to relax them a little bit. It's
about putting the work in and relaxing at the same time - trying to get that
balance between work and enjoyment. I’m a great believer you should look forward
to coming in. In fairness there’s a better buzz about it this week."
www.wba.co.uk
Spurs' defender Danny Rose:
“It’s going to be a good game for us as we’ve just got a big
result against Southampton away so everyone is looking forward to it and I think
it’s fair to say we’re looking to win three points.
“Southampton away was a fixture a few people might not have fancied us in, but we’ve
got a new manager and everyone wants to give that extra 10 per cent. Naturally
when a new manager comes in everyone wants to fight for their place.
“We’ve got two home games where we’re fully expecting to win
three points from each. If we do that it puts us in a very nice position going
into the New Year.”
www.tottenhamhotspur.com
MATCH
ODDS
Result
Albion Win: 5/1, Tottenham Win: 8/15, Draw:
3/1. First
Goalscorer
Albion: Anelka 8/1, Long 8/1, Anichebe 9/1,
Sessegnon 10/1, Berahino 11/1, Vydra 12/1, Sinclair 14/1, Brunt 16/1, Morrison
16/1, Gera 16/1, Amalfitano 20/1, Mulumbu 20/1, McAuley 25/1, Yacob 33/1, Dawson
33/1, Jones 33/1.
Tottenham Hotspur:
Defoe 7/2, Soldado 7/2, Adebayor 9/2, Chadli 13/2,
Lamela 7/1, Sigurdsson 7/1, Holtby 9/1, Eriksen 9/1, Lennon 14/1, Dembele 16/1,
Vertonghen 20/1, Sandro 20/1, Capoue 20/1, Kaboul 25/1, Rose 33/1, Walker 33/1,
Chiriches 33/1.
www.williamhill.com
REFEREE
Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Taylor refereed one Albion game last
season - the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at Villa Park in September.
The Cheshire official also took charge of one
Spurs' game last season - the 2-1 win at Swansea City in March.
Taylor has issued 44 yellow and two red cards
in his 13 games so far this season.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the game are no longer on sale to away
supporters.
WEATHER FORECAST
Sunny intervals,
7°C.
FIXTURE HISTORY
Albion's first competitive meeting with Tottenham came
in the 1901 FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park. Spurs, who were then a
Southern League team, pulled off a shock as they beat First Division Albion
by four goals to nil.
The first league meeting of the two clubs took place in
November 1908 when Albion ran out 3-0 winners at The Hawthorns thanks to
two goals from Charlie Hewitt and one from Billy Garraty. The return game
at White Hart Lane the following March also ended with an Albion victory -
this time 3-1, again with two goals from Hewitt and one from Garraty.
Albion's best ever win against Spurs came at The
Hawthorns in February 1927 when goals from Joe Carter (2), Stan
Davies (2) and Sammy Short helped the Baggies to a 5-0 victory. The only
other time Albion have hit five goals past Spurs came in October 1922 in a
Hawthorns clash that ended 5-1 to the home side.
Spurs have registered a 5-0 victory against Albion four
times - in 1951, 1959, 1970 and 1986 - each time at White Hart Lane.
The last time the Baggies beat Spurs came at The Hawthorns in December
2008 when goals from Roman Bednar and Craig Beattie handed the hosts a 2-0
win.
Albion's
last win at
White Hart Lane
came just over 29 years ago in November 1984, Derek Statham (pen), Steve MacKenzie
and David Cross the scorers in a 3-2 victory.
The
Baggies have won only two of 14 Premier League matches against Spurs, and none
of the last seven.
MATCH
HIGHLIGHTS
(Click on game to view)
Saturday 11 September 2010 - Albion 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League - The Hawthorns
Wednesday 28 December 2005 - Albion 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League - The Hawthorns
Wednesday 25 August 2004 - Albion 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League - The Hawthorns
Monday 21 April 2003 - Albion 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League - The Hawthorns
Saturday 29 November 1980 - Tottenham Hotspur 2-3 Albion - First Division - White Hart Lane
Saturday 9 February 1980 - Albion 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur - First Division - The Hawthorns
Saturday 23 January 1965 - Albion 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur - First Division - The Hawthorns
LAST
MEETING AT WHITE HART LANE
Tottenham Hotspur
1-1 Albion Barclays
Premier League Saturday 25th August 2012, 3.00pm
Tottenham Hotspur:
Friedel; Walker,
Vertonghen, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto; Sandro (Sigurdsson 73), Livermore; Lennon, van
der Vaart (Adebayor 63), Bale; Defoe (Jenas 76). Subs not used: Cudicini
(gk), Caulker, Naughton, Townsend.
Goalscorer: Assou-Ekotto 74
Booked:
Vertonghen 48 (foul)
Albion:
Foster; Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell; Mulumbu, Yacob; Morrison; Fortune
(Rosenberg 78), Long (Lukaku 63), Dorrans (Brunt 75). Subs not used:
Myhill (gk), Jones, Gera, C Dawson.
Goalscorer: Morrison 90+1
Booked: Mulumbu 29 (kicking ball away), Reid
81 (foul)
Attendance: 36,166
Referee: Mike Dean
(Wirral)
James Morrison scored an injury-time equaliser to earn
West Brom a point and spoil
Andre Villas-Boas' first home game in charge of Tottenham. Tottenham were guilty
of wasting a number of chances in both halves, but the tension inside White Hart
Lane lifted with 16 minutes left when Benoit Assou-Ekotto smashed home a
deflected half-volley to put the home side ahead. West Brom, revitalised after
the introduction of Romelu Lukaku as a second-half substitute, kept plugging
away and the hosts' defence crumbled in the 91st minute when Morrison swept home
to steal a point for the Baggies.
With all the uncertainty surrounding a number of his star
players, and last week's defeat at Newcastle lingering in the back of his mind,
Villas-Boas could have done with marking his White Hart Lane bow with a win, but
it was not to be. The
London
side lacked the fluency displayed during the majority of last season under Harry
Redknapp, although there were encouraging performances from Sandro, Gareth Bale
and Jan Vertonghen, who thought he had marked his debut by scoring a 94th-minute
winner only to see it ruled out for offside.
Villas-Boas and his trio of new signings received a huge
round of applause before kick-off, and the Portuguese's charges looked
determined to deliver for their new boss. Bale was the architect of an early
onslaught. The winger, playing in a wider role than he did under Redknapp, cut
in off the left flank and fired a shot just wide. The Welshman then found Sandro
in the box but the Brazilian went down under pressure before he could get a shot
off. Bale spun his marker in the corner and sent a low ball across the box but
Liam Ridgewell prevented Aaron Lennon steering home from close range. Lennon did
get on the end of a Bale cross soon after but the
England winger miscued a volley.
Rafael van der Vaart was the next Spurs player to go close, steering a curled
shot just wide after Lennon cut the ball back to the Dutchman. Tottenham's
dominance on the game started to wane, leaving Villas-Boas to cut the look a
worried figure on the edge of his technical area.
West Brom still lacked a cutting edge going forward, however,
with Vertonghen snuffing out any threat from the visitors. The Belgian had a
chance to mark his Spurs debut with a goal after playing a clever one-two with
Bale but he rifled a volley well over. Steven Reid fashioned
West Brom's only chance of the
first half - a curling free-kick that easily cleared Brad Friedel's bar, and Ben
Foster was called in to action for the first time in the 46th minute when he
saved a weak shot from Defoe.
Tottenham continued to dominate in the second period but
still could not find the net. Van der Vaart picked out Bale with a peach of a
cross-field pass but the Welshman volleyed well over. Foster then pulled off a
terrific diving save to deny Assou-Ekotto from a 20-yard free-kick. Defoe then
spurned a great chance to put Spurs ahead when he latched on to Jake Livermore's
pass but his effort went wide. Villas-Boas turned to Emmanuel Adebayor for
inspiration, the Togo
marksman coming on for Van der Vaart just after the hour. Villas-Boas thought
the £5million striker had won him a penalty when he tussled with Gareth McAuley
but Mike Dean waved play on. Spurs thought they had finally broken the deadlock
after 64 minutes when Defoe smashed home an Assou-Ekotto cross, but the linesman
ruled the England striker had strayed offside. Lukaku came on for West Brom and
almost made an immediate impact, shrugging off Vertonghen before drawing a good
save from Brad Friedel. Lukaku's presence was causing Spurs all kinds of
problems, but the mood inside White Hart Lane lifted in the 74th minute when the
hosts took the lead. Gylfi Sigurdsson's corner was cleared in to the path of
Assou-Ekotto and he smashed home a half-volley courtesy of a big deflection off
McAuley. Lukaku took advantage of some lackadaisical defending to gain some
space just outside the Spurs box but Vertonghen came to the rescue with an
outstanding sliding tackle.
West Brom piled on the pressure through Fortune and Lukaku towards the
death. McAuley came agonisingly close to scoring in the final minute when he
sent over a looping header that was cleared off the line by Assou-Ekotto. Then
30 seconds in to injury time
West Brom equalised when Morrison swept home from close range shortly
after William Gallas had cleared off the line. Vertonghen thought he had won the
game with almost the last kick when he volleyed home but his effort was
disallowed.
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.
Ossie Ardiles, who managed Albion during the
1992/93 season was a Spurs' player and quit his job at The Hawthorns to
take over as boss at White Hart Lane. Ardiles' assistant at The Hawthorns,
Keith Burkinshaw - himself a former Spurs' manager took over as
Albion boss on Ardiles' departure; Vic Buckingham played for Spurs
and later managed Albion; Jesse Carver managed Albion before
becoming a coach at White Hart Lane; Ex-Albion physio Danny Thomas
was a Spurs' player when injury cut short his career; Martin Jol
played for Albion then later managed Spurs; John Gorman coached at both clubs; Wilf
Dixon was Albion's trainer during the 1960s and Spurs' assistant
manager from 1974-76.
ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
VENUE |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Home |
68 |
37 |
12 |
19 |
133 |
85 |
Away |
67 |
15 |
18 |
34 |
67 |
116 |
Neutral |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
Total |
136 |
52 |
30 |
54 |
200 |
205 |
LAST
TEN MATCHES AGAINST TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
DATE |
COMPETITION |
H/A |
F-A |
GOALSCORERS |
GATE |
Sun 03 Feb 2013 |
Premier League |
H |
0-1 |
Bale |
24,978 |
Sat 25 Aug 2012 |
Premier League |
A |
1-1 |
Morrison - Assou-Ekotto |
36,166 |
Tue 03 Jan 2012 |
Premier League |
A |
0-1 |
Defoe |
36,062 |
Sat 26 Nov 2011 |
Premier League |
H |
1-3 |
Mulumbu - Adebayor 2, Defoe |
24,801 |
Sat 23 Apr 2011 |
Premier League |
A |
2-2 |
Odemwingie, Cox - Pavlyuchenko, Defoe |
36,160 |
Sat 11 Sep 2010 |
Premier League |
H |
1-1 |
Brunt - Modric |
23,642 |
Sat 02 May 2009 |
Premier League |
A |
0-1 |
Jenas |
35,836 |
Sun 28 Dec 2008 |
Premier League |
H |
2-0 |
Bednar, Beattie |
26,344 |
Mon 27 Mar 2006 |
Premier League |
A |
1-2 |
C Davies - Keane 2 |
36,152 |
Wed 28 Dec 2005 |
Premier League |
H |
2-0 |
Kanu 2 |
27,510 |
|