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Played
February 3, 2013 1:30 PM GMT
The Hawthorns — West Bromwich
Referee:‬ M. Clattenburg‎
Attendance:‬ 24978‎
 
 
Gareth Bale 67′

West Brom - Tottenham Preview: Champions League-chasing Spurs travel to stuttering Baggies

Andre Villas-Boas' men have not lost a Premier League game in their last eight fixtures, while the hosts are looking to rediscover their blistering early-season form

By John Stammers

More On :  Tottenham, West Bromwich Albion, West Bromwich Albion vs Tottenham
  PROBABLE LINEUPS

WEST BROM

Foster
Jones, Olsson, McAuley, Ridgewell
Dorrans, Mulumbu, Brunt, Thomas
Morrison
Lukaku
TOTTENHAM

Lloris
Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto
Dembele, Parker
Lennon, Holtby, Bale
Defoe

Steve Clarke has no fresh injury problems and should be able to call on midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu after his nation DR Congo were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations. Liam Ridgewell may also return at the back in place of Goran Popov

Elsewhere Shane Long is pushing for a start after his goal against Everton, but Romelu Lukaku's form makes him a hard man to drop, with Marc-Antoine Fortune, Steven Reid and Claudio Yacob all in contention.

After a bizarre transfer deadline day in which he travelled to QPR without permission, only to be refused entry to the ground, Peter Odemwingie remains a West Brom player so is available, but is unlikely to feature on Sunday.

Andre Villas-Boas, meanwhile, remains without Emmanuel Adebayor and after failing to sign another striker in the January window Jermain Defoe will carry on up front.

The Tottenham boss will have to make a decision, however, in midfield as Lewis Holtby was impressive off the bench against Norwich, but with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Clint Dempsey also vying for an attacking midfield role.

William Gallas returned to the substitutes bench for the draw with the Canaries and could be in with a chance of starting as well.

  DID YOU KNOW?
  • West Brom have scored just 30.3% of their goals against top-ten teams, the third worst in the league behind Swansea and Liverpool.
  • Despite their impressive start to the campaign the Baggies are now without a win in their last seven games.
  • In just nine Premier League starts for the Midlands side, Romelu Lukaku (pictured right) has scored seven times and assisted one goal.
  • Tottenham's Moussa Dembele has the third-best pass completion rate of all Premier League midfielders - 91.77% of his attempted passed ending successfully - but has the best in the final third - completing 88%.
  • Spurs have now gone eight Premier League matches without defeat, however they have drawn half of those fixtures.
  • Following his goal against Norwich Gareth Bale has now netted 10 times in a Premier League season for the first time.
  • However, the Welshman has only managed one assist in the league compared with seven by the end of January 2012.
  • A late James Morrison equaliser rescued a point for Clarke's men in the return fixture between these two sides at White Hart Lane, Benoit Assou-Ekotto opening the scoring.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Tottenham
    18.41 %
  • West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Tottenham
    11.76 %
  • West Bromwich Albion 1-3 Tottenham
    11.1 %
Head to Head
Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ 3 Feb 2013 West Bromwich Albion 0 - Tottenham 1
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Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ 25 Aug 2012 Tottenham 1 - West Bromwich Albion 1
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Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ 3 Jan 2012 Tottenham 1 - West Bromwich Albion 0
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Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ 26 Nov 2011 West Bromwich Albion 1 - Tottenham 3
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Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ 23 Apr 2011 Tottenham 2 - West Bromwich Albion 2
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Last Five Matches
West Bromwich Albion
19 May 2013West Bromwich Albion 5 - Manchester United 5EPL
12 May 2013Norwich City 4 - West Bromwich Albion 0EPL
7 May 2013Manchester City 1 - West Bromwich Albion 0EPL
4 May 2013West Bromwich Albion 2 - Wigan Athletic 3EPL
27 Apr 2013Southampton 0 - West Bromwich Albion 3EPL
Tottenham
24 May 2013Jamaica 0 - Tottenham 0FR
19 May 2013Tottenham 1 - Sunderland 0EPL
12 May 2013Stoke City 1 - Tottenham 2EPL
8 May 2013Chelsea FC 2 - Tottenham 2EPL
4 May 2013Tottenham 1 - Southampton 0EPL
Odds
Returns: West Brom £5010.00 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Returns: Draw £210.00 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Returns: Tottenham £26.20 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
1Ben FosterGoalkeeper
3Jonas OlssonDefender
20Goran PopovDefender
23Gareth McAuleyDefender
12Steven ReidDefender
5Claudio YacobMidfielder
7James MorrisonMidfielder
11Chris BruntMidfielder
17Graham DorransMidfielder
9Shane LongStriker
36Romelu LukakuStriker
13B. MyhillGoalkeeper
6Liam RidgewellDefender
28Billy JonesMidfielder
30Sebastien Gabriel TamaşDefender
14Jerome ThomasMidfielder
8Markus RosenbergStriker
32Marc-Antoine FortuneStriker
25Hugo LlorisGoalkeeper
-Jan VertonghenDefender
20Michael DawsonDefender
28Kyle WalkerDefender
32Benoit Assou-EkottoDefender
23Clint DempseyMidfielder
7Aaron LennonMidfielder
8Scott ParkerMidfielder
3Gareth BaleMidfielder
19Moussa DembeleStriker
18Jermain DefoeStriker
24Brad FriedelGoalkeeper
13William GallasDefender
28Kyle NaughtonDefender
6Tom HuddlestoneMidfielder
22Gylfi SigurdssonMidfielder
7Lewis HoltbyMidfielder
29Jake LivermoreMidfielder
Players to Watch
Chris Brunt
Chris Brunt
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 11
Games Goals YC RC
31 2 4 0
West Brom's opponents have bundles of talent in the middle of the park, with attacking creativity flowing from Holtby, Dembele, Sigurdsson and Dempsey, as well as a defensive organiser in the shape of Scott Parker. Therefore, the 28-year-old will need to be at the top of his game to both break up dangerous counter-attacks and patient build-up play, while he must also offer late runs from midfield.
Aaron Lennon
Aaron Lennon
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 7
Games Goals YC RC
34 4 1 0
Though it was Gareth Bale that took the limelight with his fantastic goal in the mid-week fixture with Norwich, it is the right winger who has outshone the Welshman on a number of occasions for Spurs this season - improving vastly from his exciting but raw and often wasteful days. The attacker has also earned an England call-up for the upcoming friendly with Brazil and will be keen to keep impressing.
Prediction
Worryingly for Steve Clarke West Brom's impressive early-season form seems to be slipping away and the Midlands club are now without a victory in seven matches - including a demoralising FA Cup exit and a heartbreaking late comeback from Reading - and with Spurs in decent form they could have enough for the win, just.
Editor's Prediction
West Brom 1
Tottenham 2
Results
ALL MATCHES >>
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Robin van Persie Robin van Persie
Striker
Manchester United 		26 3
Luis Suárez Luis Suárez
Striker
Liverpool 		23 0
Gareth Bale Gareth Bale
Midfielder
Tottenham 		21 0
C. Benteke C. Benteke
Striker
Aston Villa 		19 3
Michu Michu
Midfielder
Swansea City 		19 0

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