SB Nation English Premier League
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Everton travel to White Hart Lane in a fixture that was far more compelling back in August.
Well, what did you expect? Everton aren't a particularly good team at the best of times, and at one point in this match they deployed a 20-year-old centre half who's featured above League One a grand total of once. Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, are putting their London rivals to shame, coming into the match five points ahead of Chelsea and six over Arsenal.
Unsurprisingly, Spurs dominated, with the hosts ripping the Toffees to shreds in the first half. In true Tottenham fashion, they should have scored at least three goals before they actually managed to open the scoring. At least the goal itself was something special, with Aaron Lennon absolutely obliterating Leighton Baines before slotting in at Tim Howard's near post.
The second half was more of the same - Sylvain Distin managed to pick up an injury which forced the introduction of the aforementioned 20-year-old, Shane Duffy. Minutes later, Benoit Assou-Ekotto did this. And then the game ended and Tottenham won. Surprise!
Are you all ready for what looks like it should be a one-sided match at White Hart Lane? High flying Tottenham Hotspur might be missing Scott Parker, but they have the luxury of re-introducing England international Michael Dawson to league play after being without the centre half since August. Everton, on the other hand, have been hit with more injuries than you can shake a stick at. But football isn't played on paper - can the Toffees stage an upset here?
Tottenham Hotspur lineup (4-4-1-1): Brad Friedel; Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Younes Kaboul, Michael Dawson, Kyle Walker; Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Jake Livermore, Aaron Lennon; Rafael van der Vaart; Emmanuel Adebayor
Substitutes from: Carlo Cudicini, Sebastian Bassong, Danny Rose, Niko Kranjcar, Stephen Pienaar, Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko.
Everton lineup (4-4-1-1): Tim Howard; Leighton Baines, Sylvain Distin, Johnny Heitenga, Phil Neville; Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Marouane Fellaini, Tim Cahill, Lanon Donovan; Victor Anichebe; Louis Saha.
Substitutes from: Royston Drenthe, Denis Stracqualursi, Magaye Gueye, Apostolos Vellios, Shane Duffy, Jan Mucha, James McFadden.
I suppose that this match is technically a 2011 Premier League contest, on account of it being the season opener for both sides. The fixture, obviously, has been a little misplaced - the London riots saw to that - and this is the first week that it could be played. Cast your mind back to August and you'll remember a quietly confident Everton team vs. a Tottenham Hotspur that was looking awfully like losing its best player to Chelsea.
Now, things are looking very different. Everton are struggling badly, having just lost to relegation-threatened Bolton at Goodison Park, while Spurs are having their best season in recent history. Tottenham could go level on points with Manchester United and extend their lead over 4th-place Chelsea to eight(!) points with a win at home today. Once upon a time, this looked like a tight fixture. Now it's a title contender hosting a disappointing, injury-plagued* mid-table team. Life's just full of surprises.
*Both teams are pretty badly hurt at the moment. Here are the key absentees: Everton - Tim Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Leon Osman, Jack Rodwell, Ross Barkley, Seamus Coleman and Tony Hibbert; Tottenham - Sandro, William Gallas, Scott Parker, Ledley King.
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, January 11, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Venue: White Hart Lane, London, England
TV: FOX Soccer Channel (USA), Sportsnet World (Canada). Unfortunately, there is no UK live television coverage.
For more on the two teams, check out Tottenham Hotspur blog Cartilage Free Captain and Everton FC blog Royal Blue Mersey.
VIDEO: Benoit Assou-Ekotto Scores Stunner Vs. Everton
by Ryan Rosenblatt
Sex on a stick.
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Jan 11 5:29p