Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton Match Preview
Tottenham has just taken the fourth position in the table again but news came this week that the England international Aaron Lennon, who has been laid up due to a groin injury suffered in December, felt a strain while in training and now will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the damage. On the other hand, striker Roman Pavlyuchenko came off the bench on Sunday to bag two goals for Spurs in their 0-3 win away at Wigan. He also nabbed two in Spurs 4-0 FA Cup Fifth Round replay thumping of Bolton midweek. The Russian hopes his performance will encourage manager Harry Redknapp to give him more playing time, but the manager has largely preferred his other striking options, Jermain Dafoe and Peter Crouch. Harry may have a re-think about his starting line up after seeing his Russian star score four goals in two games.
Everton’s Europa League adventure ended Thursday with a 3-0 loss on the night to Sporting Lisbon, thus ending the tie 4-2 on aggregate. This comes on the heels of a grand outing against Manchester United last weekend, when they beat the Red Devils emphatically with a come from behind 3-1 win at Goodison Park. United got on the score sheet in the 16th minute with a Berbatov strike from close range. But the Toffees countered just three minutes later with a missile of a shot from Bilyaletdinov. Second half goals by substitutes Gosling and Rodwell sealed a well-earned victory for David Moyes’ men. The absence of injured Everton midfielders Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini was hardly noticed. Now in eighth place on 38 points, a win at White Hart Lane would put Everton within reach of the top four contenders.
