The race for UEFA Champions League qualification will be one of the biggest focuses on Boxing Day when fourth-placed Nottingham Forest face 11th-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Forest, led by former Spurs manager Nuno Espirito Santo, have been one of this season’s surprising storylines and are leading the hunt for a top-four spot, but it will be a competitive race to the finish line. Forest and 13th-place Manchester United are only 9 points apart. This means that with half the season remaining, 10 teams have the potential to qualify for Europe’s top club competition. That includes Spurs, who have all the tools they need to win on Thursday but need to find stability to help them move up the table in the second half of the campaign.
Here’s what you need to know before tuning:
How to watch and odds
- date: Thursday, December 26 | hour: 10 AM (Eastern Standard Time)
- location: City Ground – West Bridgford, England
- Live Stream: peacock
- multiplication: Nottingham Forest +135; Draw +260. Tottenham Hotspur +185
Storyline
Tottenham’s poor season hit another high and low point last week alone, with the side beating Manchester United 4-3 to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals before losing 6-3 to Liverpool on Sunday. A string of results has left them with just three wins in their last 11 competitions, painting a picture of inconsistency that has frustrated many since coach Ange Postecoglou’s optimistic start to last season.
Spurs remain the most attacking team in the Premier League, leading the league with 39 goals in 17 games and exceeding the expected goals average of 32.46. at least what It suits Postecoglou, who favors an aggressive tactical approach and has overseen Spurs’ progress in this department. The team has averaged 2.3 goals per game in the league this season, a significant increase from their average of 1.9 goals per game last season based on similar expected goals and shots on target. Goals also come from a variety of players. Five players have scored seven or more goals in all competitions, including surprise leading 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 were forced to play without starting goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and centre-backs Cristian Romero and Mickey van der Ven for most of this game, which cost them dearly. Vicario’s understudy Fraser Forster did not suit Postecoglou’s tactical approach and made several individual errors that led to goals, while back-up centre-back Radu Dragusin was someone Liverpool successfully targeted and exposed over the weekend. Many have called for Postecoglou to change his style preference to account for his defensive problems, but he has stuck to his tactics and suggested the switch is not as easy as some suggest.
“I’m not going to change even if people want me to change my approach,” Postekoglou said after Sunday’s game, according to the Evening Standard. “The reason we’re doing this is because we think it’ll help us be successful. If people don’t understand the situation we’re in right now, that’s the challenge we’re going to have from a squad standpoint. We’ve been focused on making this team the team we want to be, with the mindset that flipping a switch and making a change will miraculously make us a better team. no see.”
Expected Lineup
Tottenham: Forster, Foro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke.
prediction
Tottenham have the ability to score against most teams, even ones as solid defensively as Forest, who have conceded just 19 goals in league games this season. The visitors will also have the advantage of playing against a team that does not score many goals. Forest have only scored 23 goals this season. But their ability to concede foolish mistakes can force teams to share points. Select: Nottingham Forest 1, Tottenham Hotspur 1
