While Manchester at Arsenal is the supposed headliner of this Premier League weekend, the true best fixture might be Tottenham Hotspur at Wolverhampton Wanderers. It should be the most competitive at least, given how it’s a match-up of the sixth and seventh place sides.
Wolves have only lost once at home, and that was back in week four to Chelsea. Since starting the season winless in their first six, they’ve been on fire- unbeaten in their last 11. The Midlands side is looking like a club bound for Europe again. Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has been blessed with a roster that has had excellent team fitness, both this season and last, for the most part.
He rotated his side for the game against Besiktas in midweek and one can expect him to rotate it again here, bringing his regulars back into the first team.
You can expect Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho to rotate his side as well, having rested many of his first-choice footballers in the midweek loss at Bayern Munich.
Midfielder Harry Winks is back in training after having recovered from an ankle injury, but Tanguy Ndombele is still working his way back from a groin issue. Meanwhile Hugo Lloris (elbow), Michel Vorm (calf), Ben Davies (ankle) and Erik Lamela (thigh) all remain long term injury absentees.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Tottenham Hotspur FYIs
Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI: go to this link
Kickoff: Dec. 15, 2pm Molineux Stadium
TV: NBCSN (USA), UNIVERSO (USA-Spanish), not televised (UK)
Stream: NBC Sports Live (USA)
Google result probability: Tottenham Hotspur victory 42% Draw 28% Wolverhampton Wanderers 30%
Form Guide: Wolverhampton Wanderers- WWWWW Tottenham Hotspur- WWWLD
Prediction: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2, Tottenham Hotspur 2
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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