Mauricio Pochettino’s side play two days ahead of Manchester City and Liverpool as they look to keep up the fight for the Premier League title
Tottenham follow up Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to Wolves with a trip to Cardiff City on New Year’s Day.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were on a fine run of form after going unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions, but collapsed in the second half against newly promoted Wolves, having previously taken the lead through a stunning Harry Kane strike.
That loss meant they lost ground on league-leaders Liverpool, who beat Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s side face a challenging assignment away at Manchester City on Thursday though, so the trip to South Wales could be a valuable opportunity for Spurs to close the gap to the Reds.
| Game | Cardiff City vs Tottenham Hotspur |
| Date | Tuesday, January 1 |
| Time | 5:30pm GMT / 12:30pm ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| NBCSN | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on Sky Sports Main Event or streamed on Sky Go.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Premier League | Sky Go |
| Position | Cardiff players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Etheridge, Smithies, Murphy |
| Defenders | Morrison, Manga, Bamba, Connolly, Cunningham, Bennett, Peltier, Richards |
| Midfielders | Arter, Camarasa, Ralls, Paterson, Gunnarsson, Damour, Harris, Reid, Murphy, Hoilett, Pilkington, Mendez-Laing |
| Forwards | Tomlin, Zohore, Madine, Ward |
Cardiff have three long-term absentees in Kenneth Zohore (thigh), Jazz Richards (hamstring) and Danny Ward (knee).
Cardiff XI: Etheridge; Manga, Morrison, Bamba, Cunningham; Gunnarsson, Arter; Reid, Camarasa, Murphy; Paterson.
| Position | Tottenham players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Lloris, Vorm, Gazzaniga |
| Defenders | Rose, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Walker-Peters, Foyte, Aurier, Davies |
| Midfielders | Son, Winks, Wanyama, Nkoudou, Dier, Sissoko, Alli, Eriksen, Moura |
| Forwards | Kane, Llorente |
Tottenham are still without Jan Vertonghen (thigh) and Victor Wanyama (knee), and Eric Dier also misses out after missing the visit of Wolves with appendicitis.
Serge Aurier and Mousa Dembele are in the final stages of rehab for their respective injuries.
Tottenham XI: Lloris; Trippier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rose; Winks, Sissoko; Eriksen, Alli, Son; Kane.
Tottenham will likely get back to winning ways according to Bet365, who have Spurs down as 4/9 favourites. Alternatively, Cardiff are priced at 6/1 and the draw can be backed at 10/3.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Tottenham have been impressive this term and were in flying form until they stumbled against Wolves.
Pochettino had told fans they were well entitled to dream of winning a Premier League title after the 6-2 win over Everton, and supporters would have been on cloud nine after Spurs followed that result with a 5-0 win over Bournemouth.
But the recent defeat brought them back down to earth, and Pochettino’s team will have to return to their previous consistency if they are to have any chance of competing with the imperious Liverpool and Manchester City at the end of the season.
Cardiff will be full of energy after beating Leicester City 1-0 on Saturday, a result that took them four points ahead of fellow strugglers Fulham and eight above bottom side Huddersfield Town.
That left Neil Warnock delighted with his team’s position going into the new year, as Cardiff were widely written off at the beginning of the season.
So this encounter could prove tricky for Spurs, but three points would be extremely valuable as they face a resurgent Manchester United in their next Premier League outing.
With the bonus of playing before City and Liverpool – thus being able to heap even more pressure on that game on Thursday – the Tottenham players will not be short of motivation in South Wales.
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