Tottenham v Norwich City prediction, preview, predicted XI and more | Premier League 2019/2020
There would be midweek action in the Premier League, as matchday 24 of the 2019-20 season is all set to get underway.
Tottenham would host Norwich City at the Tottenham Stadium in London and with both teams in need of all three points, we would be in for a real spectacle.
The two teams require the points for markedly different reasons; for Tottenham, hopes of a top-four finish are gradually diminishing unless they can inject life into what has been a disappointing campaign, while Norwich are staring down at the barrels of relegation after just one season back among the elite.
Tottenham v Norwich City Head-to-Head
The two sides have met each other on ten occasions in the past, with Tottenham having the slight edge with four victories. This is one more than the three wins picked up by Norwich, while the other three fixtures ended in a stalemate.
Tottenham form guide: DLLDW
Norwich form guide: WLDDL
Tottenham v Norwich City Team News
Team captain Hugo Lloris is still out with the elbow injury sustained against Brighton in October and the French international has returned to training, with a February return mooted.
Other players sidelined by injury are Ben Davies (ankle), Tanguy Ndombele (groin), Moussa Sissoko (knee), while star striker Harry Kane recently underwent surgery on a thigh injury and is expected to be out until April.
Injuries: Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies, Tanguy Ndombele, Moussa Sissoko, Harry Kane
Suspensions: Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez are both one yellow card away from suspension
Tottenham v Norwich City Predicted XI
Tottenham predicted XI: Paulo Gazzaniga; Japhet Tanganga, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Serge Aurier; Harry Winks, Eric Dier, Dele Alli; Lucas Moura, Heung-Min Son, Gedson Fernandes
Tottenham v Norwich City Prediction
A dire start to the campaign led to the surprise termination of Mauricio Pochetino's contract, with Jose Mourinho announced as his replacement and an immediate upturn in result justified the decisions but Spurs have since come crashing back down to earth.
The Lilywhites have won just one of their last six Premier League games and have failed to score in each of their last three fixtures for the first time since November 2013.
They needed penalty heroics from Gazzaniga to pick up a point against Watford and Mourinho would be demanding an improved performance from his players against the division's bottom side.
For their part, the Canaries have impressed with their beautiful brand of football under Daniel Farke but their inability to shut out opponents has been their Achilles heel and it is looking highly likely that they would not survive the drop.
Norwich have been boosted by the return to full fitness of top scorer Teemu Pukki and even though the Finnish international has fallen some way off his highs earlier in the season, he still scored the winning goal in the 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
Tottenham have surprisingly found clean sheets hard to come by since Mourinho took charge and although they would be without the services of Harry Kane - which has contributed to their drought in front of goal - they should still have enough in the tank to find the back of the net against the Premier League's worst defence.
The two sides met in a 2-2 draw just right after Christmas but a similar result would be unacceptable to the hosts and Norwich are the perfect opponents for Tottenham to get back into top gear.
Verdict: Tottenham 3-1 Norwich