Tottenham vs Middlesbrough
Venue: White Hart Lane
Kick off: 6:30pm
Tottenham are very much in the title mix as seek to get back to winning ways against Middlesbrough on Saturday at White Hart Lane.
Mauricio Pochettino will see two of Spurs’ title rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea, face each other at Stamford Bridge, also on Saturday, and senses there is an opportunity for the taking as one of the teams are bound to drop points.
The White Hart Lane outfit is in second place at the moment and can put distance between them and the Gunners, who are level on points if the latter loses to the league leaders, similarly, they can make up points if the Blues fail to win, which is the predicted result.
However this will be only possible if Tottenham pick up all three points in their backyard.
The Argentine manager has problems in defence and will be without first choice defenders Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose.
The former is expected to be out for at least another couple of weeks, while the latter is expected to be out for a month after suffering an injury during the game against the Black Cats.
Hugo Lloris returns to the squad after missing the game against Sunderland with illness.
Middlesbrough are searching for their first Premier League win of the year with their last coming in mid-December against Swansea City.
They have lost three and drawn as many since then and will be keen to pick up their first win sooner rather than later as they languish in 15th place just three points ahead of the relegation places.
Aitor Karanka is happy with his team’s position at the moment, but will be aware that a few bad results can increase the pressure on his team.
However, beating Spurs at their home ground will be a monumental task, but there have been bigger upsets in the past.
Tottenham Possible XI: Lloris, Walker, Dier, Alderweireld, Davies, Wanyama, Dembele, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane.
Middlesbrough Possible XI: Valdes, Barragan, Bernardo, Gibson, Fabio, De Roon, Clayton, Forshaw, Traore, Negredo, Stuani.