Tottenham is clinging on to the 4th spot in the league after 3 consecutive wins but will face tough opposition here at Brittannia Stadium where Stoke so far has performed brilliantly.

Stoke
Ruled out: none
Home game record: 6-5-4

Stoke has only lost one out of the last 10 home games, where of 6 has been draws. Their last two coming against the teams that Tottenham is currently fighting for 4th spot against, Aston Villa and Manchester City. Overall this season the have only lost at home to the top 3 teams and Birmingham. This game will see the likely return of Ryan Shawcross who has served his 3day suspension after breaking the leg of Aaron Ramsey in a tackle. In contention for the starting line-up is also striker Ricardo Fuller who will be anxious to prove himself, especially since Stoke has only managed to score 2 goals in the last 4 games. Stoke is currently positioned at 11th position, 12 points clear of relegation so really there isn’t much at stake for the team but manager Tony Pullis is very focus on his team not loosing focus and taking things for granted. Stoke has come this far through hard work and team spirit and this will also be the key if they are to stop Tottenham’s offence.

Tottenham
Ruled out: Jermain Defoe, Ledley King (thigh), Jermaine Jenas (groin), Aaron Lennon (groin), David Bentley (groin/virus), Danny Rose (knee) and Kyle Walker (arm)
Away game record: 5-5-4

Tottenham has shown excellent form recently but are still somewhat struggling to find the consistency needed to secure themselves a 4th spot and possible qualification for the Champions league. Their last 5 away matches showing only 1-2-2 with the win coming at Wigan. Tottenham’s strikers are in tremendous form with the latest game at home resulting in 2 goals from Roman Pavluchenko. However they will be without Jermaine Defoe for this game and even though Tottenham has a talented squad, his speed will no doubt be missed.

Conclusion
Tottenham can not really use anything but a win here but it will not come easy as Stoke has specialised in draws at home this season. They are well organised and will fight to the end and that is something that will earn you points in the Premiership. When facing such teams it will quite often be up to an individual performance to decide the game and with Jermaine Defoe sidelined I have doubts about which Tottenham player can break the strong organisation of Stoke. This will be a close game between two very different teams but balancing their capabilites against each other I expect a close game and recommend betting on a draw.