Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Stoke City

Tottenham Hotspur host Stoke City on Sunday afternoon looking to maintain touch with the top teams in the Premier League table.

A 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day saw Spurs overtaken by Manchester United, and head coach Tim Sherwood will be aware that they need three points against the Potters.

Paulinho returns after sitting out the last three fixtures through suspension, but defender Kyle Walker serves a one-match ban.

Stoke head a cluster of teams packed close together in mid-table, but the Staffordshire outfit need to improve on an away record of one win in nine matches if they are to consolidate their position.

Manager Mark Hughes will be without both Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson after the pair were both shown a red card during their side's 5-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Thursday.

Recent form

Tottenham Hotspur: WWLLWD

Stoke City: DWDLWL

Possible starting lineups

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris; Naughton, Rose, Dawson, Chiriches; Paulinho, Chadli, Eriksen, Sigurdsson; Adebayor, Soldado

Stoke City: Sorensen; Cameron, Pieters, Shawcross, Muniesa; Palacios, Walters, N'Zonzi, Adam, Assaidi; Crouch

Sports Mole says: 2-1