Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton Preview – Sunday 4pm
Tottenham play Everton this Sunday in a bid to gain an advantage over the Toffees in the league standings. The two sides sit level on points, but Everton boast the superior goal difference and as such are above Spurs. This game could be seen as a potential six-pointer in the quest for European football and Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping his side can make a big statement by winning on Sunday.
Last weekend, Ryan Mason made the second most passes in the Premier League, behind Cesc Fabregas, completing 93 passes over the course of the game, averaging out at more than a pass per minute. Mason had a pass completion rate of 90.3% and this combined with other recent performances means Mason is beginning to become a firm favourite of Mauricio Pochettino.
On the subject of the manager’s favourites, Hugo Lloris is the only player to have played every minute of Premier League football for Spurs this season. The Frenchman has repaid his managers faith, making a total of 32 saves over the course of the first twelve games. Lloris is also well known for his footballing ability and being a ‘sweeper keeper’. He appears to have limited this a tad under his new manager, but nevertheless has still covered more ground (57.3km) than players such as Charlie Adam (57.0km) and EdinDzeko (56.2km). With 888sport you can get odds of 17/5 for Tottenham to win with a clean sheet.
From covering ground to speed, Eric Dier has recorded Tottenham’s fastest sprint speed this season. The former Sporting Lisbon man was clocked running at 35.0km/h and has been proven tough to beat in a one on one situation. Dier has put his speed to good use this season too, having completed a total of 428 sprints in the games so far.
Everton will be keen to pull away from Tottenham by clinching a vital three points this Saturday, as Roberto Martinez will no doubt see Spurs as one of their main threats as they battle to finish in the top six this season.
Phil Jagielka has made an impressive start to the campaign, being the only ever-present outfielder in the Everton side. The skipper has made 117 clearances in the league so far, which ranks him 5th in the entire division for said statistic, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
Romelu Lukaku has had a lot of pressure on him to justify his big money transfer from Chelsea, but the frontman has managed to net five goals in twelve matches and has averaged a goal every 190 minutes, equating to almost a goal every other game. Lukaku has recorded fifteen of his 26 shots on target, which is a squad best, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Lukaku is 17/10 to score anytime with 888sport.
James McCarthy is now a regular in the heart of Everton’s midfield, and with good reason according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. McCarthy has covered 10.7km per league game on average; the most of any Everton player, and his energy has proved an important part of Everton’s style of play. In addition to his work rate, McCarthy has also completed more tackles than anyone else in his squad (30) and he is likely to be key if Everton are to earn a result this Sunday.
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.