Tottenham 2-1 Wolves, LIVE: Spurs look to bounce back from Chelsea defeat in crunch clash as Premier League Top Four race hots up
- Spurs host Wolves in the Premier League’s 2pm kick off this Sunday afternoon
- Jose Mourinho’s men were defeated last game at Chelsea and want a response
- Wolves are well in the hunt for Champions League football with 11 games left
- LIVE: Everton vs Manchester United – follow the action here KO 2pm GMT
Tottenham host Wolverhampton Wanderers in Sunday Premier League action in north London.
Jose Mourinho’s men will be looking to bounce back from their 2-1 loss to Chelsea last weekend as they chase Champions League qualification.
Wolves on the other-hand will be hoping they can repeat their 3-1 away win last season thanks to Willy Boly, Raul Jimenez and Helder Costa.
Sportsmail’s Ollie Lewis will provide live Premier League coverage of Tottenham vs Wolves including score, lineups and build-up.
Host commentator
And that’s half time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the hosts heading into the break with a 2-1 lead.
Spurs started the game the stronger of the two teams and were deserving of their lead when Steven Bergwijn poked home. But from that point on Wolves found their rhythm and when Matt Doherty equalised, you felt the momentum was with the visitors.
That Serge Aurier strike just before half time will infuriate Nuno, who will have to inspire yet another comeback among his group of players for the second 45 minutes.
And there’s the goal! The ball is played out wide by Dele to Serge Aurier. The full back cuts inside Vinagre and wraps his left footed shoot into the far side of Patricio’s net and Spurs grasp a crucial lead.
45 MINS: Big chance for Spurs now! Lots of pinball action in the Wolves box but Lo Celso and Bergwijn are unable to get shots off, the ball rolls out to Winks whose shit deflects into the air and Dele hooks the ball over his head safely into the hands of Patricio.
44 MINS: Chance Wolves! Moutinho has another corner but elects to direct it into the box. Saiss flicks on towards the back post with Doherty onrushing but the ball just evades the Irishman’s head and whistles wide.
40 MINS: Wolves corner after a strong driving run from Jota sees Dier and Sanchez in a tangle and the Englishman hooks behind.
Moutinho plays it short to Jota but the routine comes to nothing and Spurs clear.
37 MINS: Free kick Wolves after Traore beats two Spurs players but is dragged back for the foul. Joao Moutinho’s free kick is lofted towards the back post but Dier nods clear.
Neat bit of interplay between Jota and Traore but the latter’s chipped ball to Vinagre is just ahead of the wingback. Dele wins a foul in his own half to relieve the pressure.
34 MINS: Davies is getting some medical attention here as he has a bloodied nose. A bit of cotton wool and the Welshman is ready to get going again.
Wolves are in the ascendancy as Jota drives at the Spurs defence but is dispossessed at the last.
29 MINS: Big chance for Spurs down the other end now. Lo Celso lofts a delicate ball to Ben Davies who nods it back to Dele but he is unable to turn the ball home and Wolves clear their lines.
Wolves are level! The visitors had been finding their rhythm for the past five minutes and the pressure has paid off.
Ruben Vinagre finds himself darting down the left hand side, Japhet Tanganga makes a terrible effort of clearing his ball into the box and it falls to Matt Doherty who is afforded plenty of time to stroke beyond Gazzaniga.
Game on!
23 MINS: Coady’s diagonal ball finds Adama Traore on the right hand side, the winger takes the ball to the byline and his cross finds Diogo Jota. The Portuguese strikes the ball on the half volley but that one was rising as soon as it struck his boot and sails into the south stand.
21 MINS: Traore looks to get his jets on as he enters a footrace with Eric Dier, but the Spaniard gets it all wrong and his touch takes the ball out of play.
Wolves are looking to knock the ball around patiently as Spurs go man-for-man with Nuno’s side.
19 MINS: Spurs have a corner after Saiss failed to keep the ball in play. Lo Celso’s ball is cut back to Winks and Boly clears but the ball finds Sanchez who hooks the ball over Patricio’s bar. The hosts will be delighted with how they’ve started this opening 20 minutes.
16 MINS: Spurs have their tails up after that opening goal. Ben Davies is found in acres of space on the left who centres the ball into the Wolves box but Boly and Coady do just enugh to get it away.
Spurs lead! The Wolves corner is scrambled away and Spurs break through Bergwijn. Wolves snuff out the danger but Lo Celso plays it out wide and the centre finds Dele Alli whose shot is parried by Rui Patricio but the ball falls into the path of Bergwijn who makes no mistake and lashes home.
Wolves concede the early goal again – a familiar sight for fans of the Gold and Black persuasion.
12 MINS: Neves finds that man Adama Traore and pierces a ball through past the shoulder of Tanganga. Traore has the pace to beat his rival with ease but his cross is high and wide.
Wolves win the ball back and Jimenez’s short deflects and falls to Jota whose effort is blocked behind for a corner.
10 MINS: It looks as though Mourinho has gone and matched Wolves’ back three formation, with Eric Dier sitting between Tanganga and Sanchez.
They’ve also done their homework on Traore, with Winks, Tanganga and Davies swarming the Spaniard whenever he touches the ball.
8 MINS: Adama Traore caused Spurs nightmares last time they faced each other and he will be looking to do the same today. He picks the ball up from the halfway line and drives at the Spurs defence but pulls his shot wide of Gazzaniga’s post.
7 MINS: Dele looks to be leading the attack as a false nine here, and Spurs will look to go direct to the tall Englishman to bypass Wolves’ press.
Ben Davies lofts the ball high towards Dele but Attwell deems the Spurs man fouled Conor Coady there.
4 MINS: Free kick for Spurs midway into the Wolves half after Ruben Neves cynically drags back Lucas Moura as the Brazilian broke away.
3 MINS: Fairly quiet opening with Spurs knocking the ball around the back. Serge Aurier makes his way into the Wolves box and Romain Saiss clears behind for a corner.
Patricio punches away and Wolves clear their lines.
Stuart Attwell blows his whistle and Diogo Jota gets us underway at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Just a few minutes until the action kicks off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Harry Winks and Conor Coady are in the tunnel with their respective charges and once all the pre-match pleasantries are complete we’ll be underway.
A reminder of the teams…
Tottenham: Gazzaniga; Aurier, Sanchez, Tanganga, Davies; Winks, Lo Celso; Lamela, Dele, Bergwijn; Moura
Wolves: Patricio; Boly, Coady, Saiss; Doherty, Neves, Moutinho, Vinagre; Traore, Jota, Jimenez
With Chelsea dropping points at Bournemouth yesterday, Spurs can move within two points of their London rivals with a win today.
A win for the visitors will take them within three points of the top four.
Worth remembering Manchester United are also in action today, a win for the Red Devils would see them leapfrog Chelsea into fourth place.
With Kane and Son out for at least another month, the pressure is on Dele to carry the goal scoring burden for Spurs.
The Englishman is his side’s third top scorer this season but has netted just once in his last 13 appearances.
Spurs are still in with a chance for Champions League football next season but will need their star man to hit top form if they’re to outlast United and Chelsea.
To read more, click HERE.
It’s exactly nine months to the day since Spurs stepped out at the Wanda Metropolitano for the Champions League final against Liverpool.
Only two players who started that game are named in the starting lineup today (Winks, Dele).
Injuries aside, it’s a big indication of the direction Mourinho wants to go with this team. The naming of Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez as the defensive pairing ahead of Vertonghen and Alderweireld is a clear signal of intention of where he sees the future of his defence.
The young pair are up against a rampant Wolves front line today in what will be a baptism of fire.
Raul Jimenez has backed Wolves to complete a remarkable three-year journey from the Championship to the Champions League.
He will be hoping to play his part in helping Wolves to the top four today as he starts for Nuno’s side.
To read more, click HERE.
With Lloris, Alderweireld and Vertonghen out, Harry Winks will be the man with the armband today for Spurs.
Winks’ future in north London appeared uncertain following Jose Mourinho’s arrival a few months ago, but now he is seen as an important part of the Portuguese’s plans.
The Englishman revealed how an ‘honest chat’ with the boss turned his fortunes around.
So Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Tanguy Ndombele are all excluded from the starting lineup for Spurs after last week’s loss to Chelsea, with Paulo Gazzaniga, Serge Aurier, Japhet Tanganga and Eric Dier coming in for Jose Mourinho’s side.
As expected, Ruben Vinagre comes in for the injured Jonny for Wolves.
In a few minutes we will find out who’ll be starting today’s blockbuster clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Mourinho isn’t spoiled for choice in terms of options with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Juan Foyth, Ryan Sessegnon and Moussa Sissoko all out.
The only doubt for Wolves is left wing back Jonny, who picked up a knock in last week’s 3-0 win over Norwich.
Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo will meet once again on the sideline and are familiar with one another having enjoyed success together at Porto.
Nuno was Mourinho’s back up goalkeeper as Porto won the UEFA Cup and Champions League in successive seasons.
Wolves will be looking to avenge their heartbreaking loss to Spurs last time the two sides met.
Spurs left Molineux with all three points in December after a late Jan Vertonghen header sealed a Mourinho-esque smash and grab win in the west midlands.
Wolves fans insist that was one of their best performances of the season. If they perform anywhere near to that standard today, they’ll stand a good chance of getting their revenge.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=HlgZISKzAKk%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1
Good afternoon and welcome to Sportsmail’s live coverage of Spurs v Wolves in the Premier League in what promises to be a mouthwatering contest as the battle for the top four hots up.
Jose Mourinho will be looking for a response from his injury-plagued side after the disappointment of their 2-1 defeat to Chelsea last time out, but are in for a tricky test with Wolves well in the hunt for European football.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men are back in the UK following their trip to Barcelona where they lost 3-2 to Espanyol on Thursday night. Despite the loss, Wolves are through to the Round of 16 in the Europa League where they will face Olympiacos.
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