Tottenham vs Everton: Premier League Prediction and Preview

Two managers who’ve won the Premier League in their career (both with Chelsea). Two managers who’ve won the Champions League with different teams. Two managers looking to complete a whole season in charge of their respective clubs and of course, two former Real Madrid mangers. One cannot help but notice the current similarities between Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti as Tottenham host Everton in their Premier League opener.

Both sides have lofty ambitions for the 2020-21 season and are targeting a top four finish.

Everton, in particular, have been very active in the transfer market, adding Allan, James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure to their ranks. Tottenham too have made moves, bringing in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Matt Doherty.

The 2019-20 season

Both sides underperformed in the 2019-20 season and saw mid-season managerial changes.

Tottenham, after a poor first half of the season, regained form under Mourinho. A late charge helped them finish sixth and qualify for the Europa League qualifying round.

Everton also performed well under Ancelotti at first, but the results nosedived later on and the Toffees could only muster a 12th place finish.

Both sides did not win any silverware in the 2019-20 season.

Head to Head

The hosts have enjoyed this fixture in the past few years with their last defeat to Everton coming in December 2012. Spurs have won eight and drawn seven against the Toffees in this duration.

In the 2019-20 season, the teams played out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park, followed by a win for Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on July 6.

Team News

Mourinho will be without Japhet Tanganga who is out with a thigh issue. Giovani Lo Celso did not feature in any of Spurs’ pre-season friendlies and it is doubtful that he’ll start. Doherty and Hojberg are expected to make their debut.

Everton have a longer injury list than their opponents with Cenk Tosun, Mason Holgate, Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin, all sidelined.

It will be interesting to see if Ancelotti fields all three of his new signings – Rodriguez, Doucoure and Allan – for this game.

Key Battles

Harry Kane vs Yerry Mina

With 11 goals in the last 11 games against Everton, Tottenham’s talismanic striker Harry Kane is one to watch.

The English forward had an injury-ridden 2019-20 campaign but will be looking to start the new season on a positive note. He scored five in Tottenham’s last three Premier League games of the 2019-20 season and will be looking to build on that momentum.

Kane will be challenged on the aerial front as Yerry Mina’s physique and height give the Colombian a distinct advantage. Kane’s attacking awareness and link-up play with Heung-min Son, however, is likely to keep Mina busy throughout the 90 minutes.

Eric Dier vs Richarlison

Despite being managed by Mourinho, Tottenham’s defense looked dodgy last season.

They’ve made some changes to the backline, parting ways with Jan Vertonghen and bringing in Doherty from Wolves.

In this game, however, it will be interesting to see how Eric Dier deals with Richarlison.

Richarlison hit double figures in scoring last season and now with Rodriguez to feed him in, the Brazilian can improve on his tally.

Dier is susceptible to committing critical defensive errors so you can expect Richarlison to be pressurizing the English defender.

Prediction

Every team’s opening game of the season is hard to predict – no one expected Leeds to put three past Liverpool – and this game falls into the same category.

Everton have definitely added a lot of quality to their side but you cannot expect the new signings to click from the get go.

Tottenham have not been troubled too much by Everton in the last eight years and I expect them to continue that unbeaten run. Add Kane’s stellar scoring record against Everton and you have Tottenham as favorites.

Predicted scoreline: Tottenham 2-1 Everton