Spurs simply have to win today to keep their faint hopes of finishing in the top four alive. They were poor and rode their luck – and then some – to beat Brighton last week but it is the dropped points at Southampton and Everton which will likely decide their fate, so cannot afford more of the same against another relegation-struggler today.
Richarlison is fit once again and his first Premier League goal for Spurs wouldn’t go amiss, though he as ever has a task to dislodge the likes of Heung-min Son or Dejan Kulusevski in the starting lineup, with Cristian Stellini – who has avoided a touchline ban for his bizarre red card against Brighton – so far unwilling to change from Antonio Conte’s frustrating setup.
Bournemouth are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table, so will prove no pushovers. An early goal could easily see Spurs’ nerves show once again. Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Nick Purewal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium!
Live updates
Tottenham have won every home game against Bournemouth and lost just once in the league – which came on the south coast in 2019. It’s a very impressive record and one they should maintain today.
Spurs came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Dean Court earlier this season.
Score prediction
Though it’s not hard to detect an apathy towards Spurs at the moment, their home record is pretty convincing when looking at the cold, hard numbers.
With that in mind, they should have enough.
Tottenham to win 2-1.
Cherries in fine shape
Bournemouth have few fitness problems and hope to have defender Marcos Senesi available again after he missed the win at Leicester with a hamstring problem.
Hamed Traore remains sidelined by a foot injury in Gary O’Neil’s only concern. The manager has hailed his players after an upturn in form but wants consistency ahead of the trip to London.
“Everybody – my team, the staff, the players – are giving absolutely everything. We’re working our socks off,” he said. “The group, at the moment, deserves that praise that it gets but I’m very conscious we’ve achieved nothing at this moment.
“Every win feels big and that’s why we work so hard to put in as much as we can because we know the rewards at the end of the week are huge. But we’ll be working very hard over the next six or seven weeks to get ourselves out of it (risk of relegation) as quickly as we can.”
Richarlison fit again
Cristian Stellini says Tottenham are being cautious with Richarlison’s fitness but the forward is in contention to play today.
The Brazilian has returned after another muscle injury, a number of which have hampered his debut season in north London.
“We have to take care with Richy. To give him training and the right timing to play. To not take risks … Sometimes [players] hide their condition to try to play, to have one possibility to score, to do something good.
“But now when you live experience like Richarlison this season, maybe they can grow in their mindset. I hope that Richy understands that we are taking care of him.”
Tottenham’s other injured players are not back yet with Ben Davies (hamstring), Emerson Royal (knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) “working hard” but training alone. Rodrigo Bentancur (knee) and Yves Bissouma (ankle) are out for the foreseeable.
How to watch
TV channel and live stream: The game will not be broadcast in the UK as it takes place during the blackout imposed across English football.
Highlights: Match of the Day will show highlights when it airs at 10.30pm on BBC One on Saturday.
Welcome
Good afternoon and welcome to the Evening Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Tottenham and Bournemouth.
Spurs are fighting for the top four (just) while the Cherries are fighting for their top-flight status.
Home form hasn’t been a problem for Spurs, despite all their struggles this season, but they haven’t got wins against relegation-threatened sides over the line too often of late.
Kick-off in N17 is at 3pm BST. We have Nick Purewal for us there today, stick with us.
