Tottenham Hotspur hosts Nottingham Forest on Sunday, in what is a quasi-“relegation six pointer.” These two sides reside in the last two safety positions, with 17th place Forest level on points accumulated with West Ham United, who are currently in the drop zone. And Spurs currently have just one more point than the Tricky Trees. So while both teams are pretty bad, there is a whole lot on the line in this one. Dominic Solanke and Joao Palhinha will be itching to go in this one, and help give Spurs a badly needed squad fitness boost.
Nottingham Forest at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. March 21, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK
Premier League Form, Standing: Tottenham Hotspur 16th, 30 pts, LLLLD Nottingham Forest 17th, 29 pts DLLDD
Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur 42% Draw 28% Nottingham Forest 30%
Tottenham Team News
Palhinha is still recovering from that horrific clashing of heads with teammate Cristian Romero last week. Said interim manager Igor Tudor, on St. Patrick’s Day, ahead of the UCL matchup with Atletico Madrid: “Joao, no. Joao is a little bit worse, so he’ll be [ready] for the next game.”
So that next game is now coming up here. Spurs did beat Atletico 3-2 yesterday, but with the massive deficit from the first leg, still lost the tie 5-7. Solanke missed out on that match, with Tudor explaining afterward: “Unfortunately, he has some problem with the hip. It is no big deal, but he hasn’t made it for today, but I think he will be good for Sunday.”
So given that, Solanke should be fine to feature.
And then, for our final fitness update, Yves Bissouma has a muscular injury and he now joins Spurs’ very large group of longer-term injury absentees.
That list consists of Ben Davies, Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Rodrigo Bentancur. Also, keep an eye on the hot seat surrounding Tudor. With a loss here, Tottenham could indeed sack their manager for the second time this season.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.