BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton expects the game between Tottenham and Bournemouth to end in a 2-2 draw
Tottenham Hotspur are set to lock horns with Bournemouth at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday.
Spurs don’t have a realistic chance for a European finish through their Premier League position, which makes winning the Europa League extremely vital to not only just salvage the season to some extent but also bring back Champions League nights to White Hart Lane.
Ange Postecoglou’s side fell to a 1-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of the Europa League last-16 tie in the Netherlands on Thursday evening, meaning they will have 90 minutes next week to overcome the Eredivisie side and advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.
As far as their league form is concerned, the North Londoners were on a three-match winning streak before suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in their last fixture. Bournemouth may have floundered lately with three defeats in the last four games but overall they have been excellent. The Cherries beat Spurs 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium back in December via a Dean Huijsen header, so revenge will be on the menu for our boys.
Big Ange will be expecting a reaction from his boys against Bournemouth
BBC Sports pundit Chris Sutton has now dropped his prediction for the Tottenham vs Bournemouth game. He believes Ange Postecoglou and Co. will be fully preoccupied with the Europa League at present, with realistically nothing much left to play in the Premier League. The Scot expects goals to flow at both ends but the match will end in a 2-2 stalemate.
“Spurs’ season is really all about how they do in the Europa League now rather than their league position,” Chris Sutton made his prediction on BBC Sport.
“They do have some of their big-hitters like Dominic Solanke, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero coming back from injury, but the question is how match-sharp will they be, and also how much Thursday’s tie with AZ Alkmaar will take out of them.
“Bournemouth have already beaten Spurs once this season, winning 1-0 on the south coast in December.
“The Cherries play forward quickly and I am expecting them to cause Spurs more problems this time. There will definitely be goals in this, but I reckon Tottenham will score a couple too.”
Tottenham players must step up and beat Bournemouth at home
Spurs have a healthier squad in comparison to Bournemouth after welcoming several key players from injuries in recent weeks. The latest to return to the squad were Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke against AZ Alkmaar; however, Solanke is now an injury doubt for Sunday after receiving a knock on his back in midweek.
Big Ange has now got the resources to shuffle his squad after a quick turnaround, with the focus largely expected to be on next week’s return leg against AZ. Indeed, club legend Glenn Hoddle said after the game that Tottenham will be happy with the result at AZ and, as such, will be focusing on the second leg.
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Bournemouth are an attacking side with great pace and flair on wide areas, making them an extremely difficult opponent to play against. So, Big Ange’s side have to be switched on defensively, and with the south coast side often committing a lot of players forward, must try hitting them hard on the break and get a win to boost our confidence ahead of next week’s most important game of the season.