Everton will look to continue their impressive run of form when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The Toffees are unbeaten in their last nine in the league – dating back to the Merseyside derby in December - but their recent turnaround will be firmly put to the test against Spurs at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham
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As it stands, Tottenham are Chelsea's closest challengers in the Premier League, but Mauricio Pochettino's side are 10 points behind the Blues and are also by no means comfortable in terms of a top-four position in the table.
Indeed, just five points currently separate sixth-placed Manchester United from second-placed Spurs, while Manchester City, Arsenal and Man United all have games in hand over Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool. It is shaping up to be a fascinating battle for a Champions League spot this term and too many draws might well end up costing Pochettino's team this season.
Only Middlesbrough (10) and Man United (9) have drawn more Premier League games than Tottenham (8) this season. However, just three defeats has left the London club in second position in the division. It has been another impressive campaign up until this point and they will enter this match off the back of a thumping 4-0 victory over Stoke City at White Hart Lane last weekend.
A 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on February 11 was followed by a 1-0 loss at Genk in the Europa League on February 16, and they actually exited the European competition at the last-32 stage after only managing a 2-2 draw at home to Genk last week. Elimination from the Europa League might well be a blessing, however, as they now only have the league and FA Cup to focus on in the final months.
Tottenham are also the only unbeaten side at home in the Premier League this season, winning 11 of 13 fixtures. If they overcome Everton, the London side would set a new club record for successive Premier League victories at White Hart Lane (9).
Away from home, Spurs have struggled this season – losing at Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool - and their form on the road has stopped them seriously challenging for the title up until this point. They have a decent run of fixtures over the next few weeks, however, and will be confident of staying above the likes of Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man United.
In Harry Kane, Spurs also have a player that has scored 17 Premier League goals this season, and 22 in all competitions. He hit a hat-trick against Stoke last weekend and the 23-year-old will be hoping to outshine Everton's Romelu Lukaku during the attractive fixture at White Hart Lane this weekend.
Recent form: WDDWLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLLWDW
Everton
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Between November 5 and December 19, Everton only won once in the Premier League. At that point, there were question marks over Ronald Koeman's future at Goodison Park and the natives were even more restless when Liverpool recorded a 1-0 victory in the Merseyside derby just before Christmas.
Since losing at home to their biggest rivals, however, Everton are unbeaten in the league. That run of form has included a standout 4-0 win over Man City on January 15, while they put six goals past Bournemouth at the start of last month. They were held to a goalless draw at Middlesbrough on February 11, but will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 win over Sunderland last weekend.
Everton's nine-game unbeaten run is their best in the Premier League since going 10 games without a loss in December 2013, and a total of 44 points has left them in seventh position in the table – four points behind sixth-placed Man United. In fact, as it stands, the Toffees are only six points off the top four and could yet gatecrash the Champions League positions.
If Everton do beat Spurs this weekend, the Toffees will have equalled their total points tally from the last two seasons. That is an indication of Koeman's success after replacing Roberto Martinez, and there are suggestions that the Merseyside club will spend big at the end of the season in a bid to push for the top four.
There is no doubting that Everton fans would have wanted to see a run in the FA Cup this season, but the fact that the club only have the league to focus on in the final months means that they can rest when their rivals are playing two or three times in the space of one week.
Everton will need to be wary of a certain English striker this weekend, but Toffees forward Lukaku sits joint-top of the Premier League scoring charts with Kane this season. Whether Spurs or Everton come out on top in London might well come down to which player makes the bigger impact.
Recent form: WWDWDW
Team News
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Danny Rose will once more miss out for Spurs due to a knee problem, which should mean that Ben Davies keeps his spot in the team.
Harry Winks is pushing for a place in the XI after again impressing off the bench against Stoke, but Moussa Dembele should keep his position in central midfield.
Son Heung-min, meanwhile, is expected to remain on the bench for Pochettino's side as Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen again provide the support for Kane.
As for Everton, Kevin Mirallas replaced Ademola Lookman off the bench against Sunderland and the Belgian is pushing for a spot in the first XI.
Phil Jagielka and Gareth Barry, however, are both expected to remain on the bench as Ramiro Funes Mori and Morgan Schneiderlin continue in the team.
Tottenham possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Dier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Davies, Dembele, Wanyama, Walker; Alli, Eriksen; Kane
Everton possible starting lineup:
Joel; Coleman, Williams, Funes Mori, Baines; Gueye, Schneiderlin, Davies; Mirallas, Lukaku, Barkley
Head To Head
Spurs are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games against Everton – although five of those fixtures have finished level.
Everton, meanwhile, have only won three of 24 away Premier League games at White Hart Lane – losing 14 times in the process.
Pochettino's first Premier League match as Spurs boss was actually a goalless draw against Everton in January 2013. He has won three, drawn four and lost just one of his eight meetings with the Merseyside club in the league.
Each of the last two league fixtures between these two teams have finished level, including a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on the opening weekend of this season. Ross Barkley sent the hosts into a fifth-minute lead, before Erik Lamela secured a point for Spurs in the 59th minute.
We say: Tottenham 1-1 Everton
Tottenham are very strong at White Hart Lane and will be confident of putting another three points on the board this weekend. There is a real resilience about Everton at the moment, however, and we are backing Koeman to secure a point as the Toffees continue their unbeaten run in the league.
Matt Law
