Tottenham Hotspur will look to give their home fans a glimpse of what’s to come this campaign on match week 2 of the 2024/2025 Premier League season when they welcome Everton.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be the stage for this fixture between these two clubs who are trying to get their season to as good a start as they possibly can.
Tottenham Hotspur have now begun season two of the Ange Postecoglu Era. Last season saw them finish 5th in the standings and they narrowly missed out on UEFA Champions League football as a result. Two points separated them from Aston Villa who finished and that alone has shown progress compared to their 8th-placed finish the season before.
To some neutrals, last season was made easier for the Spurs coach as his side had no European football commitments and they had time to work and prepare in the training ground to indoctrinate the style of play on the team. This may be true, but ‘Ange ball’ (as it’s fondly called) is a style of play that shows promise and is supported by the fans and the presence of European football would not have mattered if the Spurs fans didn’t enjoy what they were watching.
The club’s fans can once again watch their team be expansive on the ball and aggressive off it, while playing a style of play that is modern. This was not the case under Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Nuno Espirito Santo.
There are still some doubts about this play style. The team plays with a high line and high press, which allows them to win the ball higher up the pitch and force transitions, but their line is extremely high, all the time which gives them a glaring weakness others can exploit.
Ange Postecoglu has openly said that he will not be changing his playstyle no matter what and it is a brave admission to make.
“I look at the top teams and there is one common trait, they invest in a plan and stick to it. They don’t shy away from the plan at the first difficult thing, whether it’s Liverpool, or Arsenal – they stick to the plan. You have to. Whatever you strongly believe in only gets tested in tough times – it doesn’t get tested when things are going well.
“These are the important times as it will show what kind of football team we’re going to be. You can shy away as we’ve got injuries and are playing Man City away but you’re either a club that tries to knock off the big clubs or you’re a big club. You are one or the other. My hope is to make this a big club – and to do that you need to be successful.
“You have to win things. And to win things you need to have a plan and stick to it and believe in it. In tough times when you get scrutinised and people will ask questions which is fair enough, that’s what needs to happen. It’s no good if people keep telling you how brilliant you are. That’s not a good way to live your life,” The Australian said back in December.
With investment in the team when it comes to transfers, a recognized style from year one as well as a foundation of core players who already have experience under the coach, the bare minimum fans will expect from Ange Ball will be consistency from the team and a good challenge for European places in the League.
Their opponents however will be hoping for some form of stability this season. Last year, Everton’s season faced constant distractions from the takeover of the club that didn’t materialize due to the PSR sanctions and points deductions.
On the pitch, Sean Dyche’s men found themselves in a relegation battle due to some forces beyond their control but they were average at best. They were able to keep up the reputation that Dyche teams have, which is a strong defence, but they were not able to muster enough firepower up front to support their defensive strength.
In the end, they were forced into yet another relegation dogfight, but they are still standing with the hope of a better, more stable season which sees them stay in the League with a bit more distance from the relegation zone.
“The bar for next season is making sure we safeguard this club in the Premier League. It hasn’t changed. There will be more challenges coming. I’ve tried to be honest with you, telling the fans the truth.
“It will not be fixed overnight. It is going to be a building process and it takes time. I think there is growth, from when I got into where it is now. There has been development in the side and the players and the mentality for sure. But there is a long way to go to get it back to where Everton think they are.
“The perception is often bigger than the truth of the story, so I’m trying to find the gap between the two and bring it together so fans go ‘OK, we kind of get where we are at’. I’m trying to do that but there are more challenges to come, I don’t just mean financial, I mean balancing out the club, balancing out the playing side of things, balancing out the wage structure. There are more challenges to come.”
Match Tickets
Tickets for the game between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are up for sale on the websites of both clubs. As usual, the Tottenham Hotspur stadium is expected to have a sold-out crowd for their first home match of the season. Everton fans will also travel in good numbers to support their team in North London. To that effect, the demand for Tottenham vs Everton tickets will be on the rise.
Also Read: The Story Of Tottenham Hotspur’s Downgrade
The game will be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, 24th of August at 3:00 PM. Fans in and around the United Kingdom where Sky Sports’ coverage reaches will be able to enjoy the game at that time.
The Premier League is broadcast to 212 total provinces in the world, which means that fans outside the United Kingdom have to tune in to one of the league’s broadcast partners in their province for the game.
Team news
With the transfer window still open, there is a chance that the starting lineup may change from one matchday to the next.
Richarlison missed the last two games of last season as well as the Copa America with a calf injury and it remains to be seen if he will be ready for the start of this one.
For Everton, Nathan Patterson is on the road to recovery after his hamstring injury and may be available at Spurs on Saturday. Losing Amadou Onana has created a huge hole in the team that will be hard to fill. Jarrad Branthwaite’s future is yet to be resolved but they will be looking to keep their best central defender beyond this window.
Lineups
Tottenham will play their strongest lineup with the hopes of coming away with all three points against Everton with Romero and Van De Ven at the heart of the defence and Son Heung Min leading the line.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van De Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison, Johnson, Kulusevski, Son.
Everton will also feature their strongest players with new signing, Illman Ndiaye starting behind the striker upfront.
Everton: Pickford; Godfrey, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Gueye, Doccoure, Harrison, McNeil, Ndiaye, Calvert-Lewin.
Prediction
Spurs will come into this game as strong favourites to win and come away with three points. They are the better team on paper and they will most likely be the better team on the pitch throughout the match.
Everton will make it very difficult for Spurs as they will try to defend resolutely for the whole game in the hope that a chance will be found on the counter-attack but Spurs will eventually break them down to secure all three points.
Prediction: Tottenham 3-0 Everton
