by Thomas Cooper
Tottenham Hotspur's 0-0 draw with Everton in early November came before the thrashings the team would suffer over the next couple of months.
Including that game, the only loss Tottenham had suffered against a top-four rival to that point was to Arsenal back in September. A tie with Chelsea could have gone either way, and the Goodison Park stalemate was there for Spurs' taking in a first half they dominated.
If the North London club's hopes of genuinely competing with their fellow Champions League chasers were very much alive then, they have subsequently diminished amid the harsh realities of a Premier League winter.
Everton this weekend presents Spurs with a chance to reaffirm their candidacy to be in the highest echelon of the division. A win would not only help keep them well within reach of Liverpool in fourth, it would serve to strengthen confidence further undermined by the recent hammering at the hands of Manchester City.
Last weekend's 1-1 draw with Hull City reiterated the need to do well against teams throughout the division, a task sixth-place Spurs have largely handled well. It is these battles with the best, however, that are definitively looking like deciding their destiny come the end of 2013-14.
The Toffees have fared slightly better in this regard. Roberto Martinez's team beat Chelsea 1-0 and, like Spurs, also beat Manchester United at Old Trafford. Their nine draws (the most of any club in the top 10) have shown they too are some way off the table-topping standards currently being set by Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Looking back on the previous meeting between Sunday's opponents at the Spurs' official website, Christian Eriksen said:
Last time we started really well and I think in the first half we should have been in front.
Then they got into the game but we still had our chances, especially in the first half when we played really good. So I think there are possibilities this time to make our chances count.
Plenty has gone on since then, of course, but Spurs should take from that match a belief they are capable of beating Everton. Tim Sherwood is certainly stressing as much, telling the club's official Twitter page:
Source:- http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1950623-premier-league-how-tottenham-hotspur-will-line-up-against-everton
Tottenham Hotspur's 0-0 draw with Everton in early November came before the thrashings the team would suffer over the next couple of months.
Including that game, the only loss Tottenham had suffered against a top-four rival to that point was to Arsenal back in September. A tie with Chelsea could have gone either way, and the Goodison Park stalemate was there for Spurs' taking in a first half they dominated.
If the North London club's hopes of genuinely competing with their fellow Champions League chasers were very much alive then, they have subsequently diminished amid the harsh realities of a Premier League winter.
Everton this weekend presents Spurs with a chance to reaffirm their candidacy to be in the highest echelon of the division. A win would not only help keep them well within reach of Liverpool in fourth, it would serve to strengthen confidence further undermined by the recent hammering at the hands of Manchester City.
Last weekend's 1-1 draw with Hull City reiterated the need to do well against teams throughout the division, a task sixth-place Spurs have largely handled well. It is these battles with the best, however, that are definitively looking like deciding their destiny come the end of 2013-14.
The Toffees have fared slightly better in this regard. Roberto Martinez's team beat Chelsea 1-0 and, like Spurs, also beat Manchester United at Old Trafford. Their nine draws (the most of any club in the top 10) have shown they too are some way off the table-topping standards currently being set by Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Looking back on the previous meeting between Sunday's opponents at the Spurs' official website, Christian Eriksen said:
Last time we started really well and I think in the first half we should have been in front.
Then they got into the game but we still had our chances, especially in the first half when we played really good. So I think there are possibilities this time to make our chances count.
Plenty has gone on since then, of course, but Spurs should take from that match a belief they are capable of beating Everton. Tim Sherwood is certainly stressing as much, telling the club's official Twitter page:
Source:- http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1950623-premier-league-how-tottenham-hotspur-will-line-up-against-everton
