Tottenham vs. Wolves
Venue: Tottenham Stadium
Kick off: 2:05PM
Tottenham Hotspur host Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League this afternoon in their quest for a European qualification spot.
Wolves, meanwhile, still have an outside chance of finishing in the top half for a third successive season.
After interim head coach Ryan Mason won his first two league games in charge, albeit with an expected defeat to league champions Manchester City in the EFL Cup final sandwiched in between, the 29-year-old came crashing back down to earth with a 3-1 defeat at Leeds United last weekend.
Stuart Dallas continued his remarkable campaign by opening the scoring from close range to extend his league tally to eight for the season, but Son Heung-Min quickly levelled the proceedings after an excellent through ball from Dele Alli.
Harry Kane looked to have provided the visitors with the lead moments later, but the England striker saw his strike controversially ruled out for a narrow offside call, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side taking charge of the encounter thereafter.
Indeed, Mason would have been hugely disappointed with the manner in which his side crumbled, helping forwards Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo take the game away from Spurs either side of the break.
Unlike most sides in the division in this unusual season without fans inside stadiums, though, Spurs’ home record is stronger than their away one, so there is every chance that they will bounce back against Wolves this afternoon.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have won both of their trips to Tottenham since being promoted to the Premier League in 2018, though, so they will feel confident of springing another surprise in north London.
Raul Jimenez scored in both of those victories, but Wolves have desperately missed their talisman’s presence since he sustained a serious head injury against Arsenal in late November.
However, they have won three of their last five matches to move up to 12th in the table, with 10th-placed Leeds five points ahead of them with three matches of the season remaining.
Admittedly, Wolves were second best against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend until Lewis Dunk saw red in the 53rd minute. Brighton’s captain had powered the Seagulls into a first-half lead with a towering header, but Adama Traore and Morgan Gibbs-White punished the defender’s cynical foul on Fabio Silva with two late strikes to turn the match on its head.
While a third consecutive top-half finish remains an unlikely prospect, a third successive win away to Tottenham would certainly significantly increase their chances of doing so, which would be a fine achievement after a difficult season.
Tottenham possible XI: Lloris, Doherty, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Reguilon, Lo Celso, Hojbjerg, Ndombele, Moura, Kane, Son.
Wolves possible XI: Patricio, Hoever, Coady, Kilman, Ait-Nouri, Dendoncker, Neves, Moutinho, Traore, Silva, Podence.