Tottenham Hotspur vs Reading Royals: Match preview
Stadium: White Hart Lane
Referee: Howard Webb
Kick-off: 8:30 PM (IST), Tuesday, 1st of January
Tottenham continued their fine run of games with another good win, over a buoyant Sunderland, on the weekend. The London side have picked up 10 points from their last possible 12, and although their fourth position is under real threat from Arsenal, can emerge from this round of fixtures in the final Champions League spot. Only three points keep them ahead of the Gunners, who have a game in the bag, and superior goal difference to boot.
After having ended their seven match losing streak with a draw against Swansea in midweek, Reading ended the year on a happy note with a 1 – 0 win over West Ham, who have struggled away from home this season. Still, things look grim for Brian McDermott’s men, who are among the favourites to be relegated, and are currently 5 points short of exiting the drop zone.
Tottenham: L W D W W
With a 3 – 1 win in the reverse fixture at the Madejski, Tottenham have already tested the depth of Reading, and will know that this match is theirs to lose. It will take an extraordinarily sub-par performance from the cockerels to let the visitors grab any points though, as six goals from their last two games indicate a coming-of-age for the Tottenham attack, which is filled to the brim with potential. Their defence has also knuckled down and stuck to its job of late, with 3 clean sheets in the last four matches, and should be reasonably comfortable against the unimpressive Reading attack.
Reading: L L L D W
A change of guard in defence, with a never ending run of misery, has paid rich dividend for Reading, who have now conceded just 1 goal in their last three fixtures, that too against Manchester City. Of particular note was their performance last time out against West Ham, where they restricted the visitors so well that Federici had only three saves to make, which he did well. Scoring goals still remains a huge concern for the Royals though, as their only goal in the last three games has come from Pogrebnyak capitalising on an extremely poor James Collins back-pass over the weekend.
Tottenham: Younes Kaboul,Gareth Bale.
Reading: Jason Roberts, Alex McCarthy.
Aaron Lennon
With Gareth Bale suspended, and Clint Dempsey likely to take his position, all the focus will be on Lennon to provide width, and characteristic pace to Tottenham’s attack. The Englishman has been really hitting his stride lately, as the goal and assist in his last two games indicate, and could prove to be a real thorn in the side of Reading. He fed Jermain Defoe for Tottenham’s opening goal when these two sides met earlier in the season, and the visitors would do well to keep an eye out for him.
Alex Pearce
The Irishman’s presence in the heart of defence for the last 3 fixtures has made all the difference in the world for the Royals, who instantly appear much less likely to concede. Along with Mariappa partnering him in central defence, and Harte on the left, Pearce is the face of the new and improved Reading defence, which will be hoping to continue its good performance by withstanding the Tottenham onslaught.
Tottenham to knock on Reading’s door, all through the ninety minutes. Tottenham have really grown into a “top four” club this season, with teams willing to sit back and defend against them, while they have managed to eke out results more often than not. Thus, even without the services of the suspended Gareth Bale, one can expect Tottenham to be on the front foot for much of the game against the relegation threatened visitors, and probably also to be successful in breaking down their defence.