Tottenham Hotspur-Everton Preview
Europa League qualification is at stake as Tottenham Hotspur travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham (18-7-12) beat Hull City 2-0 last weekend to move within just one point of fifth-placed Liverpool. A top-six finish is likely to be enough for the Lilywhites to secure a spot in Europe's second-tier competition next season, but defender Eric Dier is keen for the club to finish as high as possible in the league table with a win over Everton.
"Liverpool losing to Palace has opened the window for us a little to try to finish fifth so we'll push for that and push for the win at Everton," Dier said. "I'm sure they will want to finish on a high in front of their fans as well so even though it's the last game of the season, there is still plenty on it
"I was quite impressed by them at White Hart Lane in November. We did well to beat them that day and it will be difficult again. Both teams will want to do well."
Roberto Martinez's Everton (12-11-14) have ended the season strongly after a disastrous first half of the campaign. The Toffees have won six of their last nine to pull into the top half of the table, and victory over Spurs would see them finish 10th - a remarkable achievement given their flirtation with the relegation zone just a couple of months ago.
Everton's revival has coincided with the arrival of Tottenham's on-loan winger Aaron Lennon to Goodison Park. Lennon has shown some of his old spark during his time with the Toffees and encouragingly displayed some central playmaking skills alongside his trademark touchline-hugging ability.
"I've loved it from the first moment I arrived here," Lennon said. "Everyone has been brilliant, I've settled in and it's been great to get some football as well. I think it's gone well. As I have got fitter, my game has improved as well and I've managed to chip in with a few goals at quite important times.
"When you look around the dressing room here, there is quality everywhere. At Spurs, we always had tough games against Everton, but I've seen the quality right the way through the squad - even from players who haven't been playing. Obviously, it was a tough start to the season for me when I wasn't playing, but, from the first moment the gaffer called me, I couldn't wait to work with him and he's done nothing but impress me since I've been here."
Everton will be without the services of the injured Leighton Baines, Bryan Oviedo, Steven Pienaar, Darron Gibson and Tony Hibbert for Sunday's final game, while Tottenham are missing Ben Davies and Kyle Walker. Emmanuel Adebayor has been granted compassionate leave by the club to deal with his ongoing family turmoil in Togo.
Spurs came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 when these teams met at White Hart Lane in November. Kevin Mirallas opened the scoring, but goals from Christian Eriksen and Roberto Soldado earned the points for the Londoners.
Everton are now winless in four against Tottenham and dropped back-to-back meetings. A win for Spurs on Sunday would give them their first league double over the Toffees in a decade.