Everton v Tottenham: Spurs seek fourth straight Premier League win
Sunday 3 January 2016 15:01, UK
Tottenham will be without Mousa Dembele as they look to cement their place in the top four of the Premier League when they travel to Everton on Super Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have won their last three games in a row and boast the best defensive record in the top flight, with just 15 goals conceded in the first half of the season.
They also have one of the most in-form strikers in the league in Harry Kane, who netted 27 times in 2015.
Both Kane and Everton's Romelu Lukaku have scored 10 goals in their last 10 league matches, but the Toffees have not been able to match Spurs' form.
They have won just three of their last 12 Premier League encounters and start the new year in the bottom half of the table.
Team news
James McCarthy will be missing for Everton and Tom Cleverley is doubtful because of an Achilles issue.
McCarthy's comeback from a hip injury against Stoke lasted just 26 minutes before he suffered a recurrence of the problem that will keep him out for at least this fixture.
Captain Phil Jagielka (knee) will make his return in one of the Toffees' next three fixtures while Steven Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo (both hamstring) are also close to featuring once more.
Tottenham midfielder Dembele will miss the match after being ruled out for up to three weeks with a groin injury.
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Dembele's absence could mean a third league start for academy graduate Tom Carroll while Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb are fit again and could step in.
The game will come too soon for Alex Pritchard, who is close to recovering from an ankle injury, and Clinton N'Jie is also unavailable with a knee problem.
Opta stats
The Toffees have won none of their last six Barclays Premier League meetings with Spurs (D3 L3).
Spurs have kept a clean sheet in four of their last five Premier League meetings with Everton.
Romelu Lukaku has scored 11 goals in his last 10 appearances for Everton (all competitions). Lukaku has scored in each of his last five Premier League games at Goodison Park (seven goals in total).
Ross Barkley has scored (6) or assisted (7) 13 Premier League goals in 2015-16, more than his previous four Premier League campaigns combined (10).
Harry Kane scored 27 Premier League goals in 2015, more than any other player in the competition. Last season, 16 of Harry Kane's 21 Premier League goals came after the new year.
Tottenham will be looking to win their opening Premier League game of the calendar year for the sixth successive season.
Paul Merson's prediction
This will be a brilliant game. I watched Everton play Leicester and get beat, watched them play Stoke and get beat. They conceded seven goals in those games, shipping goals, but I think they'll win this one.
I haven't been going against Tottenham recently, but I think Everton will come out on top in a high-scoring encounter.
They've got to keep it a little bit tighter, but I see this being a thriller. Both teams only play one way really, and I think they both have firepower to hurt each other. I've watched Everton enough this season to know that if they click, they can go on a big run.
PAUL PREDICTS: 3-2 (28/1 with Sky Bet)
