Premier League: Big Hitters Seek Maiden Win

Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton

Week two of the new Premier League season brings together two of the former ‘big five’ looking for better fortunes.

If this clash goes the way of the form book, it will be a ‘home banker’.

But the frustration for both Spurs and Everton followers for some time now has been inconsistency with Premier League highlights often followed by unexpected setbacks.

What will give this weekend?

Talking Points

Well for a start, both are looking to claim their first victory of the new campaign.

At home to Brighton last Saturday, Everton started in the relentless fashion that yielded five successive home wins and clean sheets at the end of last season.

Yet their failure to strike while on top came back to bite them in a big way as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat.

At the age of 39 years and 39 days, Ashley Young became the oldest outfield player in Everton’s history last week.

He also became the oldest outfield Everton player to be sent off which means he will be suspended for the visit to North London.

Everton have managed to keep hold of most key players this summer, including Idrissa Gueye who has extended his contract, but the backdrop of off the field issues remain.

Despite the fine work of Sean Dyche last term, his future just adds to the weight of uncertainty around the club.

Sean Dyche prepares Everton ahead of their Premier League match against Everton — Sean Dyche during Everton’s match against Arsenal

The Everton manager is in the final year of the two-and-a-half-year contract he signed when replacing Frank Lampard in January 2023 and no discussions have yet taken place over an extension. The director of football, Kevin Thelwell, is in the same position.

The club has also seen two proposed takeovers collapse this year, from 777 Partners and the Friedkin Group, although there is optimism that American billionaire John Textor may be able to complete after holding productive talks with Farhad Moshiri over buying the owner’s 94.1% stake.

While Spurs do not have to deal with such complications, there were similarities on the pitch during an opening weekend which left them frustrated, albeit to a lesser extent, after they contrived to leave newly promoted Leicester with a point from a game they could have won twice over.

For 45 minutes, they looked a class above their opponents, dominating possession and creating chances, but a lack of cutting edge ultimately proved costly – as it did several times last season.

Ange Postecoglou’s men have hopes of kicking on this season after seeing their top-four challenge fall away last term, but this was far from the ideal start.

They will hope to have Rodrigo Bentancur in the squad after he left the pitch on a stretcher on Monday night following a clash of heads.

They have a squad capable of building on last season’s fifth-placed finish but that was achieved when they did not have European combat to contend with and, coupled with fairly early exits from both domestic cups, had a calendar which was not congested.

How they juggle such commitments over the next nine months will determine if they can improve.

History

These two Premier League mainstays have faced each other on 188 occasions in all competitions, with Tottenham coming out on top with 71 wins to Everton’s 57 triumphs. There have also been 60 draws.

Everton have struggled in this fixture in recent years, mind, and have not beaten Spurs since an epic FA Cup tie in February 2021, a nine-goal thriller settled after extra-time.

Their last league victory against the Lilywhites was seven games ago, a 1-0 win in September 2020 when Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted the only goal.

The teams were then managed by Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti respectively.

It remains their only league victory over Spurs in 11 years.

Last season, Spurs edged this contest 2-1 with early goals from Richarlison (against his former club) and Son Heung-Min before Andre Gomes pulled one back.

The return fixture in February ended 2-2 when Richarlison again was on target with a double, only for Everton to twice fightback through Jack Harrison and a last gasp Jarrad Branthwaite goal.