Tottenham v Stoke preview: Davinson Sanchez suspended
Saturday 9 December 2017 14:33, UK
Tottenham face a defensive reshuffle as they will be without the suspended Davinson Sanchez when they face Stoke on Saturday.
Sanchez has been banned for three games after his red card against Watford last weekend, while Toby Alderweireld remains out injured.
In their absence, Eric Dier looks set to partner Jan Vertonghen in the centre of defence as Spurs aim to return to winning ways in the Premier League.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have slipped down to sixth in the table after taking just two points from their last four league matches.
Stoke came from a goal down to beat Swansea last weekend and manager Mark Hughes is looking for another positive result at Wembley, where Spurs have won just three of seven league games this season.
"It's different for them," said Hughes. "The perception is that they haven't done too well at Wembley. The new stadium seems to be having an effect on them.
"They are a good side at the moment, but they seem to struggle to break teams down, and they are not possibly as free flowing as they have been in the past in certain games."
Team news
Sanchez and Alderweireld both miss out for Tottenham along with Victor Wanyama (knee).
Stoke will be without Bruno Martins Indi and Jese Rodriguez. Martins Indi could be sidelined for eight weeks with the groin injury he suffered in last weekend's victory over Swansea while Jese has had to rush home to Gran Canaria to be with his ill baby son.
With Martins Indi absent, Hughes could decide to bring Geoff Cameron straight back in. The United States international is finally available again six weeks after suffering a concussion in training.
Opta stats
Spurs have won each of their last three Premier League matches against Stoke all by a 4-0 scoreline.
Stoke have won four of their five visits to Wembley Stadium in all competitions, though they did lose their last game at the ground 1-0 against Manchester City in the 2011 FA Cup final.
There have been eight red cards in the 18 previous Premier League meetings between these sides, at a rate of one every 2.25 games - the most frequent such rate of all fixtures to have been played at least 15 times.
Coming in to this weekend, Tottenham Hotspur are closer to the bottom of the league (16 points) than they are the top of the Premier League (18 points).
Xherdan Shaqiri has been directly involved in nine goals in his last 11 league appearances (four goals, five assists) - his joint-best return in a Premier League season.
Harry Kane has had a hand in seven goals in his last three Premier League games against Stoke (six goals, one assist), with a hat-trick and an assist in this exact fixture last term.
Merson's prediction
On the big pitch I think Spurs will just have too much for Stoke. Against Swansea, Stoke fell over the line, but sometimes when you win a game like that, everything is rosy. However, on this big pitch, Tottenham are too good for Stoke.
Tottenham need to win this game, otherwise they will be struggling for the top four. I think Mauricio Pochettino started off their poor run to be honest, when he took Harry Kane and Dele Alli off against Arsenal, when the game was still in the balance. Their performances have been nowhere near as good since.
PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Tottenham are Sky Bet's shortest-priced favourites of the weekend at 2/7 despite their blip, with Stoke priced at 9/1 while the draw is a 9/2 chance. That also sees Harry Kane considered the most likely scorer of the day at 2/1 to net first, while he's enhanced from 2/1 to 3/1 to bag a brace in Sky Bet's Price Boosts. For those expecting another Wembley upset, Peter Coruch is 11/1 to haunt his former club by netting first.
