The race for UEFA Champions League places will be one of the big issues on Boxing Day, when fourth-placed Nottingham Forest host 11th-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Forest, managed by former Spurs manager Nuno Espirito Santo, are one of the surprise storylines of the season and lead the pack in the race for the top four, but it will be a competitive race to the finish line. Just nine points separate Forest from 13th-placed Manchester United, meaning 10 teams feel a place in Europe’s top club competition is within their reach with half the season remaining. That includes Spurs, who have all the tools needed to win on Thursday but need to find some stability to be able to climb the table in the second half of the campaign.
Here’s what you need to know before you log in.
How to watch and odds
- Date: Thursday December 26 | Time: 10 a.m. ET
- Location: City Ground — West Bridgford, England
- Live broadcast: Peacock
- Odds: Nottingham Forest +135; Draw +260; Tottenham Hotspur +185
Scenarios
Tottenham’s up-and-down season has seen another round of ups and downs in the last week alone, qualifying for the EFL Cup quarter-finals after a 4-3 win over Manchester United, then losing a crazy 6-3 match against Liverpool on Sunday. The overall results leave them with just three wins in their last 11 in all competitions, painting a picture of inconsistency that has frustrated many after an optimistic start under Ange Postecoglou last season.
Spurs remain the best attacking team in the Premier League, leading the league with 39 goals in 17 games, surpassing their expected goal tally of 32.46. It is a signal that at least something This is going well for Postecoglou, who prefers an attacking tactical approach and has overseen Spurs’ progress in that department. The team is averaging 2.3 goals per game in the league this season, a significant increase from their average of 1.9 goals per game last campaign, compared to a similar expected number of goals and shots. The goals also come from a wide range of players: five players have scored more than seven goals in all competitions, including surprise top scorer Brennan Johnson and new addition Dominic Solanke.
Defense has been a point of contention in recent weeks for Spurs, who have conceded 23 goals in their last 11 games. They had to play without starting goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and central defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven for much of that stretch, which cost them dearly. Vicario’s understudy, Fraser Forster, did not fit Postecoglou’s tactical approach and made several individual errors which led to goals, while back-up centre-back Radu Dragusin was targeted and successfully exposed by Liverpool this weekend -end. Many have called for Postecoglou to change his stylistic preferences to account for defensive issues, although he sticks to his tactics and suggests the change is not as easy as some suggest.
“If people want me to change my approach, it won’t change,” Postecoglou said on Sunday after the match. according to the evening standard. “We’re doing it for a reason, we’re doing it because we think it will help us succeed. If people don’t understand the circumstances we’re in right now, the challenges we have from a l team are just as important, obviously, even if you want to make them I feel like people think I should just push a button and change and somehow. , it will miraculously make us a better team It’s like. “That’s what I’m going to continue. We’ve been focused on building this team to be the team we want. In the meantime, we’re going to accept that there will be challenges along the way.”
Projected programming
Tottenham: Forster, Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke
Prediction
Tottenham have the ability to score against most teams, even those as defensively solid as Forest, who have conceded just 19 league goals this season. The visitors will also have the advantage of playing against a team who don’t score much – Forest have just 23 goals this season – but their ability to concede silly errors could force the teams to share the points. Take: Nottingham Forest 1, Tottenham Hotspur 1
