Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke City Preview

It’s only a few weeks ago that Tottenham beat the reigning European Champions Real Madrid 3-1. Life has changed a bit for them since then and they go into this game knowing that even a home win over Stoke City won’t get them into the top four.  The 1-1 draw at Watford last weekend took their winless run to four league games with just two points earned.

Logo 2 TottenhamTheir poor form has seen them drop down to sixth place in the table. Their focus now switches from the impossible task of trying to catch league leaders Manchester City who are 18 points ahead of them, but to trying to finish in the top four. Those Champions League are a worrying four points away at present and that’s a gap they can’t let get much wider.

Harry Kane had a rough time of it at Watford last weekend, but he has scored in two of the last three Premier League games. It’s probably a shame that he has actually, a bad run without any Kane goals would be a good excuse for their lack of recent wins. There are worries over Dele Alli though who isn’t playing at all like he did last season and has only scored one league goal since August.

Tottenham’s home form at Wembley has seen them unbeaten in their last six Premier League games but three of those have ended in draws. The free-flowing scoring that they were enjoying on the road hasn’t been transferred to Wembley. They may have put four past Liverpool, but their other five home league games have seen them score just five times and one of those was an own goal. They have only conceded three goals in their last six home games and that defence must hold strong because they can’t afford another bad result. Their last three games against Stoke City have been won 4-0, they’d kill for that this weekend.

Stoke City1 logoStoke City had a welcome win last weekend beating now bottom of the table Swansea City. That ended a run of four Premier League games without a win and moved them up to 13th in the table and six points above the bottom three. After this game, they travel to Burnley before home games against West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion and then a trip to Huddersfield Town. That’s a fixture list that could get them into mid-table, but the problem is Stoke are a team that aren’t sure what the word ‘consistency’ means.

Fig.: Stoke City Stadium

Not since January 2016 have they managed to win two Premier League games in a row and they have a job on their hands if wanting to repeat that feat eleven months later. Away form in the Premier League has seen just one win at Watford, which of course is more than Tottenham could manage last weekend. They have conceded 15 goals on their travels and have let in at least two goals in five of their last six games, so perhaps they are ideal opponents for Tottenham’s required comeback.

Conclusion

Tottenham need to get back in winning ways if they want another season in the Champions League. Their form has dipped in recent weeks and few of their fans would have imagined they’d enter December trying to close the gap on the top four rather than being title challengers. Stoke City had a welcome win last weekend, but their away form is poor, and their defence has only kept one away clean sheet all season. Tottenham can be backed to win this game and give their fans an early Christmas boost.

The Key Stats

Last Five Premier League Results – Most recent first

Tottenham – DLDLW

Stoke City – WLLDD

Head to Head – Last Five League Meetings

26/02/17 – Tottenham 4 Stoke City 0

10/09/16 – Stoke City 0 Tottenham 4

18/04/16 – Stoke City 0 Tottenham 4

15/08/15 – Tottenham 2 Stoke City 2

09/05/15 – Stoke City 3 Tottenham 0

  • Tottenham are unbeaten in their last six home Premier League games.
  • Tottenham have gone four Premier League wins without a win.
  • Tottenham have conceded in six of their last seven Premier League games.
  • Five of the last six Tottenham home Premier League games have had under 2.5 goals scored in them.
  • Stoke City have conceded in 12 of their last 13 Premier League games.
  • Stoke City have conceded at least twice in six of the last eight Premier League matches.
  • Stoke City have only kept one clean sheet in their last seven away Premier League games.
  • Stoke City haven’t won two successive Premier League games since January 2017.
  • Tottenham have only lost one of their last seven games against Stoke City.