Tottenham will be looking to kickstart the busy Christmas period with three points when they face Bournemouth in the Premier League late today.
After their fantastic 4-0 win away to Manchester City, Spurs have failed to capitalise on their momentum or find some consistency, with Ange Postecoglou's side drawing 2-2 to Roma in the Europa League before being held to a 1-1 draw against Fulham on the weekend. Next up is another Premier League clash for the Lilywhites, with a trip to Bournemouth marking the start of a hectic winter schedule.
Games between Spurs and Bournemouth more than not produce plenty of goals, with four or more gals being scored in eight of the last 14 meetings between the two sides. Last time out saw Spurs win 3-1 against the Cherries, with Pape Sarr, Heung-Min Son and Richarlison all getting on the scoresheet.
So, can Spurs get back to winning ways later today? Let's take a look.
We simulated Bournemouth vs Spurs to get a score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the Cherries could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Adams, Christie; Outarra, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson.
We predict that Spurs could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Forster; Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Kulusevski, Solanke, Son.
A shaky start from the hosts allowed Spurs to take control of the contest in the early stages, and Postecoglou's side were unlucky not to be ahead in the opening 10 minutes when James Maddison's long-range effort swerved away from the 'keeper and onto the post. It was a convincing performance in the first half from the Lilywhites, and in the 25th minute, they took advantage of their impressive start to go ahead.
Dejan Kulusevski made it 1-0 to Spurs
Dejan Kulusevski made it 1-0 to Spurs (Image: EA Sports)
As Spurs pushed up the pitch, Maddison, Son, and Dejan Kulusevski all combined brilliantly to play through the Bournemouth midfield and into a dangerous position. Son flicked the ball to Maddison on the edge of the box who picked out the darting run of Kulusevski, and one-on-one, the Swede remained composed to fire past Kepa for 1-0.
Despite the dominant first half that saw Spurs limit the hosts to just one attempt, Bournemouth turned the game on its head after the restart, with the Cherries suffocating Postecoglou's side in their own half as they searched for an equaliser. Fraser Forster made some big stops to deny the hosts throughout the second half, but there was nothing he could do when Evanilson slid in at the back post to direct Antoine Semenyo's driven cross into the net.
In added time, the hosts thought they had snatched three points later on when Marco Senesi headed home at the back post following a late cross into the box, but the goal was swiftly ruled out for offside – a let-off for Spurs. All in all, it was a game of two halves, and the points were deservedly shared between the two sides.
EA FC 25 pre dicted final score: Bournemouth 1-1 Spurs
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
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