Stoke v Spurs – how to watch, team news, key information
Wed 23 December 2020, 11:15|
Tottenham Hotspur
We return to Carabao Cup action for the first time since September on Wednesday when we travel to Championship side Stoke City for what is our last game before Christmas.
We qualified for the quarter-final tie after defeating Chelsea on penalties at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in round four.
The Potters, who were relegated from the Premier League in 2018, have seen off Blackpool, Wolves, Gillingham and Aston Villa to reach this stage of the competition.
Ahead of the game, which kicks-off at 5.30pm, here’s our usual run-down of all the key information you need to know...
How can I watch the game?
Wednesday’s match is available to watch live on Sky Sports, kick-off 5.30pm UK. Live commentary is available on both BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT 2.
Full worldwide broadcast listings are available here.
You can also follow the action via our live Match Centre here on tottenhamhotspur.com and the Spurs Official app, with live text and audio commentary, goal alerts and stats at your fingertips.
How will the teams line up?
Japhet Tanganga remains sidelined, while Joe Rodon is cup-tied, having played for Swansea City in their Carabao Cup first-round defeat at Newport County in September.
Jose Mourinho has suggested that he could rotate the squad in certain areas.
“I think (it will be) a mixture,” he said. “Some players need to play and they deserve to play and from the ones that are playing more times, there are others where we don’t have great options to make changes and we have to keep them. But of course I will try to give a little bit of a rest to two or three of them.”
Stoke are without four senior goalkeepers – Adam Davies, Angus Gunn and Niki Maenpaa are injured, while Joe Bursik is cup-tied, having appeared for Doncaster in this competition earlier in the season.
That means either 19-year-old Belgian stopper Blondy Nna Noukeu or veteran keeper Andy Lonergan will start for the Potters. Lonergan is on a short-term contract and, like Nna Noukeu, has not yet made his competitive first team debut for the club.
John Obi Mikel won’t be fit in time to feature, although our former Academy midfielder Tashan Oakley-Boothe could play for the hosts. The 20-year-old, whose one competitive first team appearance for us came in the Carabao Cup against Barnsley in September, 2017, joined Stoke on a permanent transfer in January this year and has played 19 times for them so far, featuring off the bench in each of their last six Championship games.
Our former defender Kevin Wimmer is also still on the books at the bet365 Stadium following his transfer in August, 2017, but has not featured in a first team matchday squad all season.
Who is the referee and what colours will the teams be playing in?
Darren England has been appointed as Wednesday evening’s match referee, assisted by Neil Davies and James Mainwaring.
Michael Oliver is the fourth official.
For the first time this season, we’ll be in our Nike 2020/21 Away kit, which features dark green shirts and socks with black shorts. The Potters will be in their usual red-and-white striped shirts with white shorts and white socks.
Our goalkeeper will be in light green, with Stoke’s stopper in yellow.
What will the weather be like?
Light rain is forecast in Stoke for most of the day on Wednesday, including during the match. Temperatures are expected to be settled at around five degrees.
