Tottenham will welcome Everton to the Lane for the first game of season 2011-12 as both clubs look to improve on last season’s efforts. Spurs are looking to return to Europe’s top table; not satisfied with Europa League football. Everton too, will be unhappy with their final league placing last season, though a late season surge did see them push Liverpool for 6^th place.

History never repeats

Last season, this fixture finished a 1-1 draw and Everton won the away fixture 2-1. Over the longer term, Spurs have had a very strong record against Everton in the Premier League period. They have gained more points against the Toffees than any other club in this era. In the most recent clash, the Goodison fixture last season, Spurs were out-enthused from the kick off and second best throughout. Everton’s robust approach meant that Spurs never looked like winning, despite created 11 scoring chances.

Last season, both sides scored and conceded similar numbers of goals despite the 8 point gap in the final standings. Spurs never won by more than 2 and finished with more 2-1 wins than any other team.

Absentees

Spurs will be pleased that Seamus Coleman will be missing the match due to ankle ligament damage. He had a stormer against Spurs at Goodison in January, scoring the winner and tormenting Tottenham down their left.  Assou-Ekotto was singled out for criticism after his performance.

Pienaar will also miss the clash with his former club, ruled out for 6 week with a groin injury. So too, Sandro, who will continue his knee rehab and miss the opening day.

Running Battles

Several key duels will be vital in determining the outcome of this match. Leighton Baines against Tottenham’s right back (likely Walker) is among the key clashes. Stopping Baines will go a long way towards shutting down Everton’s attack. His 5 goals, 11 assists and 63 chances created put him among the top attacking players in the league. Walker is notable for his own surges forward. This, when paired with Lennon’s attacking threat may be sufficient to peg Baines back. If not, Lennon and Walker are not well known for their defensive quality; they may have trouble stopping the Evertonian fullback from causing havoc.

Also of note is Bale against Neville. In this fixture last season, Neville was highly successful in stopping Bale. He defended deep, giving Bale no room to run into. Bale’s passing on that occasion was poor, completing only 56% of all passes and none of his 9 attempted crosses. He was also below average in creating only 1 chance. When Spurs met Everton at home in the season before last, it was Bale who ran the game, winning man of the match honours from left back. The Welshman is Spurs’ favoured attacking outlet and will be sure to see plenty of the ball. If he can produce his best form, Spurs should have too much for Everton

As always, Tim Cahill will be a major threat for Everton, his midweek goal for Australia demonstrates that he is in good touch. He will be a handful at set pieces and a constant aerial presence.

And the Winner Is…

Spurs and Everton do have similar players in many positions; Van der Vaart and Cahill, Modric and Arteta and Bale and Baines (Left side). It should make for a balanced match, though Tottenham are heavily favoured by the bookmakers.  Spurs have started well in recent seasons while Everton have been often slow to get going. With that in mind, Spurs should be able to take the points in a closely contested match.