Sunday's game between Wolves and Spurs is set to be highly charged and emotional for differing reasons.
O'Hara ineligible for Wolves, Bale and van der Vaart missing for Spurs
Sunday's match between Wolves and Tottenham at Molineux is set to be a highly charged and emotional match for differing reasons.
As far as the match goes, Wolves are fighting for their lives to get out of the bottom three in the Premier League, whilst Spurs will be eager to win to get back in the Champions League places.
Spurs sit in fifth place, with Chelsea overtaking them after their 2-1 victory over leaders Manchester United on Tuesday.
Football has a funny way of throwing up a fixture to perfectly reflect a recent event, and Sunday's game will be no different as both clubs pay tribute to the tragic death of former defender Dean Richards.
Richards passed away last Saturday at just 36 years old, and the player is sure to be honoured by two sides he served during his 13-year career, also becoming the most expensive player never to have played for England when he joined Spurs for £8.1million in 2001 from Southampton.
Prepared
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has had plenty of time to get his team prepared for this match, having not played since the end of February when they suffered a shock 3-1 defeat at Blackpool.
Redknapp's side wasted chance after chance to score in the game, with the manager criticising his players for their profligacy in front of goal that day.
It is unclear which of his strikers will line up at Molineux, with Jermain Defoe without a Premier League goal this season, and Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko hardly setting goal tallies alight domestically.
The veteran boss however will hope his team can keep the pace with Chelsea and avoid falling out of the Champions League places after such a fine campaign in the tournament this time around.
Wolves took advantage of Blackpool last weekend following the Tangerines' win over Spurs, beating them 4-0 at Molineux to start looking at moving out of the relegation places.
Manager Mick McCarthy will know however that his team have not been able to capitalise previously on good results, and Spurs still have more than enough quality to put them to the sword.
Their good record against the top five stands them in good stead however, having beaten Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea at home to truly shine as the underdog in these fixtures.
Team news
McCarthy will be without midfielder Jamie O'Hara, who is ineligible for the match due to being on loan from parent club Spurs, which will come as a blow for the home side after the player's good form.
The former Ireland boss has no further injury worries ahead of the game, but will not be able to welcome back winger Michael Kightly yet as he works on his fitness with the reserves.
Republic of Ireland international Stephen Hunt still waits on his return, as he remains out with a calf injury.
Bad news for Redknapp is that key duo Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart are still unavailable as they continue their recovery from back and calf injuries respectively.
Redknapp hoped to have his two stars of the season back in time, but they should be back for the second leg of the club's Champions League last-16 match against AC Milan.
Ledley King is back in training after his groin injury but is unlikely to play at Molineux while Vedran Corluka (ankle), Jonathan Woodgate (groin), Younes Kaboul (knee) and Tom Huddlestone (ankle) remain sidelined.
Defoe picked up a minor ankle knock during the club's warm-weather training camp in Dubai this week but he is now back in training and is available for Sunday's game.
Possible Starting XIs:
Wolves: Hennessey, Zubar, Stearman, Berra, Elokobi, Hammill, Henry, Edwards, Jarvis, Milijas, Doyle.
Tottenham: Gomes, Gallas, Bassong, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Modric, Palacios, Lennon, Pienaar, Crouch, Defoe.
