The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton: EPL live scores, blog

29th August, 2015
Kickoff: 02:30 AEST, Sunday August 30 2015
Venue: White Hart Lane, London
Head to Head: Played 167, Tottenham Hotspur 63, Everton 54, Draws 50
Betting: Tottenham Hotspur $1.95, Draw $3.40, Everton $3.90

Last Five Meetings
Everton 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (EPL – 24/05/15 – Goodison Park)
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Everton (EPL – 30/11/14 – White Hart Lane)
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Everton (EPL – 09/02/14 – White Hart Lane)
Everton 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur (EPL – 03/11/13 – Goodison Park)
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Everton (EPL – 09/12/12 – White Hart Lane)
Pochettino's Spurs can't afford to slip up.
Roar Guru
29th August, 2015
0

Match Result:

Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Everton

A masterclass from Tim Howard has salvaged a point for Everton on their travels to north London, as Tottenham could not make their superiority count in a game that finished 0-0.

Two changes were made to Spurs’ starting team from their draw at Leicester last week, with Nabil Bentaleb and Danny Rose coming in for Erik Lamela and Ben Davies, while Everton made one change, with Bryan Oviedo replacing Brendan Galloway.

Following an early bout of Everton pressure, with Hugo Lloris saving well from a Tom Cleverley shot, Spurs began to assert themselves into the game, with Harry Kane forcing a wonderful one-on-one save from Howard as the American was sat on his goalline, but stuck out a vital leg to deny the striker what looked a certain goal.

In a dour first half shorn of any other genuine goalscoring threat, it was the ankle injury to Cleverley in the 41st minute that caught the most attention, following a crunching and legitimate tackle by Eric Dier. The half ended in quiet fashion as both teams went into the sheds without attempting any further chances.

The second half began similar to the first, as Moussa Dembele also had to be subbed off following injury. The chances kept coming for the goal-starved Kane, who through lack of meaningful service was confined to shots from distance. The major chance though fell for Arouna Kone, who should have scored in the 72nd minute, after he timed a good run through the box from Oviedo’s cross, but could only direct his header narrowly wide of Lloris’ right upright. In the end, the match finished in quiet fashion as neither team could create a winning chance.

Match Preview:

Advertisement

Tottenham Hotspur will seek their first win of the Premier League season as they face inconsistent Everton at White Hart Lane on Sunday morning from 2:30am AEST.

Early doors it may be, and while titles are neither won nor lost in August, catchup may be the word to describe the campaigns of Tottenham Hotspur and Everton if they start slowly.

For two clubs of fine historic pedigree, their modern reality is largely spent on the outside looking in. Neither side are likely to ever suffer relegation, yet rarely do they get to realise European nights and Wembley days.

Tottenham’s first and last time in the Champions League elite was when Gareth Bale was firmly establishing the makings of the world’s most expensive footballer tag, while Everton’s brief foray in the premier European competition ended before it began against Villarreal 10 years ago.

For last pieces of meaningful silverware, it was in 2009 when Spurs won the League Cup, while it’s even further back when Everton won the FA Cup in 1995.

It’s such desperation that has marked both clubs’ efforts to regain primacy in England via big spending efforts. In the Spurs’ case, it was to stack up a plethora of talent in place of Bale two seasons ago, while for Everton, the 28 million spent on Romelu Lukaku is still yet to realise its full fruit.

Lose on Sunday, and any dreams can be on hold for yet another year. The clubs above don’t relent their ascendancy.

Advertisement

Following the Spurs’ 1-1 draw at Leicester last week, manager Mauricio Pochettino may be tempted to change his formation to include new signing Son Heung-Min, which may see Erik Lamela deployed on the wide left in supply of Harry Kane.

The main focus should however be retaining possession from Everton’s hungry attacking three of Tom Cleverley, Ross Barkley and Kevin Mirallas, whose performance in the 2-0 loss to Manchester City did not tell their potential.

This should ensure Spurs’ Belgian centre back pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have a busy day ahead.

For Everton, the talk will centre on whether John Stones is still a Blue come Sunday morning. Having put up a stern front in repelling Chelsea’s advances for the defender, Roberto Martinez’s job is now to convince his player his prospects are better for staying at Merseyside, while returning the Toffees to the heights of his first season in charge.

The loss against Manchester City belied the fact that Everton have assembled a strong attacking squad that can hurt suspect defences, but plenty rests on Lukaku to deliver. It’s another season awaiting in mediocrity otherwise for a historic club that yearns for a return to better times.

As the home side, Tottenham will have nominal favouritism, as they have been unbeaten against Everton for more than three years. Yet given the respective form of both sides, a draw is a safer prospect.

Join The Roar for a full match wrap up at 5:30am AEST following the conclusion of the game.

Advertisement
close