Sunderland v Tottenham
13:30, Sunday 13th September
Sunderland have had a tough start to the league this season, and will be looking to correct that with the visit of Tottenham this weekend. The Black Cats will have cause for optimism after their last two performances have seen them pick up draws against Aston Villa and the unbeaten Swansea. They will be hoping to go one better this weekend and secure their first victory of the season, which would see them climb out of the relegation zone, and potentially move them up to ninth in the league.
Tottenham will themselves feel that they have had a somewhat indifferent start to the campaign this season. They have been held to a point in each of their last three outings, and will be hoping to go one better this weekend to please the fans travelling up and down the length of the country to get behind North London’s boys in white.
So far this season, Kyle Walker and Younes Kaboul have been the standout defenders for their respective sides, as demonstrated by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Kaboul holds the edge in the tackling department, having won 88.9% of his nine tackles, with Walker winning 76.5% of his 17 attempts. Kaboul also holds 25 clearances and three interceptions to his name in comparison to Walker’s nine clearances and one block, but Walker, on the ball shows where his creative value lies. Walker has completed 80.1% of his 181 attempted passes in comparison to Kaboul’s 71.8% completion rate from his 149 attempts.
In the middle of the park, Yann M’Vila and Christian Eriksen will go head to head in the middle of the park, in a battle that could well decide the outcome of the game. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that M’Vila has netted with his only attempt on goal for the season, with both players winning 75% of their challenges, with M’Vila winning 12 tackles; three times more than his opponent. M’Vila has also completed 87.3% of his attempted 142 passes, with Eriksen completing 75.9% from his 87 attempts. Eriksen will need to find his best form this weekend to get Tottenham a foothold in the match against the in-form M’Vila.
Up top, we will see Spurs new striking sensation Harry Kane pitted against former Tottenham goal scorer Jermain Defoe. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index can reveal that Defoe has hit the target with three of his four shots on goal, converting twice, with Kane still looking to get off the mark. Kane will be looking to keep up the hard work, demonstrated by him winning 83.3% of his six challenges, and will hope to see that work ethic rewarded with goals this weekend. Kane is 23/18 to score anytime with 888sport.com. Defoe is 28/11 to score with 888sport.com.
Sunderland v Tottenham Possible Lineups:
Sunderland: Pantilimon; Jones, O’Shea, Kaboul, van Aanholt; Cattermole, M’Vila, Rodwell; Lens, Graham, Defoe
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Bentaleb, Dier; Chadli, Mason, Son; Kane
Sunderland v Tottenham Match Facts:
- Tottenham are undefeated in their last 10 league games against Sunderland (W7, D3).
- Sunderland’s last win over Spurs came in April 2010 – prevailing 3-1 at the Stadium of Light.
- Sunderland have conceded a league-high 10 goals this season.
- However, the Black Cats have scored twice as many league goals as opponents Tottenham: six to Spurs’ three.
- Sunderland have gone seven league matches without a win (D4, L3).
- Spurs have failed to win any of their opening four games of a Premier League season for the first time since 2008-09.
- Their tally of three goals scored is the second lowest in the Premier League this season.
- Harry Kane has scored two goals from 28 shots in his last 12 Premier League appearances. In his previous 12 league games, he scored 14 goals from 33 shots.
Stats via BBC.
Sunderland v Tottenham Prediction:
A 1-2 win for the travelling side.
Data supplied by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Select and manage your own team of stars with at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ or with FIFA Ultimate team.