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Premier League | Gameweek 17
Jan 2, 2021 at 12.30pm UK
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
LL

Spurs
3 - 0
Leeds

Kane (29' pen.), Heung-min (43'), Alderweireld (50')
Winks (54'), Doherty (64'), Hojbjerg (85')
Doherty (90+2')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Phillips (89')

Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Leeds United - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Leeds United - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Tottenham Hotspur will be aiming to kick off the New Year on the right foot when they welcome Leeds United to North London for Saturday's Premier League encounter.

The visitors trounced West Bromwich Albion 5-0 in midweek, whereas Tottenham's clash with Fulham was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Cottagers' camp.


Match preview

The visit of Fulham would have represented the perfect opportunity for Tottenham to return to winning ways and end the year on a high note, but as was the case with numerous fixtures in midweek, that London derby had to be called off after Fulham reported several coronavirus cases.

On the other hand, Jose Mourinho's men would have been thankful for a few more days of rest after a gruelling encounter with Wolverhampton Wanderers, in which the Spurs manager set his team up to defend and did not reap the rewards.

Tanguy Ndombele took just 57 seconds to break the deadlock at Molineux last Sunday, but Wolves deservedly levelled through Romain Saiss in the dying embers of the match, and Mourinho once again drew heavy criticism for his perceived negative style of play.

Spurs have since slipped out of the title race amid an underwhelming spell of form, and that draw with Wolves stretched their winless run in the top flight to four matches since a 2-0 North London derby win over Arsenal earlier this month.

Having been neck-and-neck with Liverpool for the majority of the campaign so far, Mourinho's side now find themselves seven points adrift of the champions, although a place in the top four is still within their reach before Manchester United, Aston Villa and Everton take to the pitch on Friday.

Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion's rearguard produced a stellar performance to restrict Liverpool to a solitary goal last weekend, but the Baggies defence was breached all too easily by Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds.

The Whites struck four times in the first half - with Ezgjan Alioski, Jack Harrison and Rodrigo netting after Romaine Sawyers's comical own goal - and a delightful strike from Raphinha completed the rout at The Hawthorns on Tuesday evening.

Aside from their narrow 1-0 win over Burnley last weekend, Leeds simply do not do low-scoring affairs, and Bielsa's talented attacking contingent are sure to fancy their chances against a Spurs side who have become renowned for sitting back.

However, Leeds' defensive frailties are very much still there - West Brom are the only team to have shipped more goals than the Whites this season - but the 30 strikes that Bielsa's men have chalked up at the correct end of the field can only be bettered by Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Leeds have risen to 11th in the table after taking nine points from their last four matches, and should West Ham suffer defeat at Everton on Friday, the Whites would leapfrog the capital outfit if they can at least hold Spurs to a draw this weekend.

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form: DWDLLD
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions): WDLLWD

Leeds United Premier League form: LLWLWW


Team News

Mourinho opted to deploy a three-man defence against Wolves, but it would not be a surprise to see the Spurs manager revert to a 4-2-3-1 here after last weekend's disappointing result.

Gareth Bale and Giovani Lo Celso are both set to remain on the sidelines for another couple of weeks at least, and there are also doubts over the fitness of Brazilian attackers Carlos Vinicius and Lucas Moura, but both players are expected to be fine.

Several changes from the draw at Molineux can be expected on the hosts' end, with Serge Aurier, Moussa Sissoko and Steven Bergwijn potentially coming back into the team.

As for the visitors, Mateusz Klich lasted just under an hour against West Brom before taking a blow to the thigh, and the midfielder is doubtful for this encounter.

Pablo Hernandez or Jamie Shackleton could deputise in midfield if Klich is not cleared to play, while defenders Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente are both expected to miss out once more.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Sissoko; Bergwijn, Ndombele, Son; Kane

Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Dallas, Ayling, Struijk, Alioski; Phillips; Raphinha, Rodrigo, Hernandez, Harrison; Bamford


We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Leeds United

This has all the makings of an enthralling game. Tottenham's pace on the counter-attack could prove deadly against a depleted Leeds defence, but the Whites' relentless pressing and affinity for goals should serve them well against this Mourinho team. Spurs will be desperate to put their miserable end to 2020 behind them straight away, but we can see Leeds coming away with a point from this showdown.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting that both teams will score (BTTS - yes) in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.BTTS Yes:data



Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:



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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Crystal Palace121561017-78
19Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
20Southampton11119721-144
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