Sat 29 February 2020, 15:51
Tottenham HotspurWe welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time on Sunday afternoon.
And once again, it's a clash which has a lot resting on it as there is just a point and two places separating the sides in the table ahead of the 2pm kick-off.
Team news
Wolves will be without full-back Jonny after he picked up an injury in their last Premier League outing – a 3-0 win over Norwich.
Wolves’ form
The West Midlands outfit are still competing on two fronts as we head towards the business end of the campaign. Sitting eighth in the Premier League, they have enjoyed a productive season so far and have lost just twice in the top flight since the turn of the year. In their Europa League campaign, they secured their progress to the round of 16 on Thursday night with a 6-3 aggregate win over Espanyol. And having taken a 4-0 lead to Spain, it meant Nuno Espirito Santo could rest a few key men, including Diogo Jota, Ruben Neves and top goalscorer Raul Jimenez.
New faces
Wolves brought in two new faces for their first team in January. Young forward Leonardo Campana moved on a free to Molineux having left Ecuadorian side Barcelona SC. Meanwhile, Daniel Podence, a goalscorer against us for Olympiacos in our 2-2 draw with the Greek giants back in September's Champions League Group B meeting, has also moved to the West Midlands.
One to watch
Diogo Jota has been the man in form for Wolves as of late. Nuno Espirito Santo's side had struggled for goals as they moved into 2020 – between 29 December and 14 February (nine games) they scored just six times – however, in their last three games, they have scored 10 goals, five of which came via Jota. An initial loan signing in 2017 from Atletico Madrid, the young forward made his move permanent the following summer and over the last two-and-a-half seasons, the Portugal international has been involved in 60 goals for Wanderers (42 goals, 18 assists) in 117 games.
Last five meetings
15 December, 2019 – Wolves 1-2 Spurs – Premier League
29 December, 2018 – Spurs 1-3 Wolves – Premier League
3 November, 2018 – Wolves 2-3 Spurs – Premier League
14 January, 2012 – Spurs 1-1 Wolves – Premier League
10 September, 2011 – Wolves 0-2 Spurs – Premier League
The numbers game
1 – We have lost just one of our last seven league games against Wolves (W4 D2).
0 - Wolves won this fixture 3-1 last season – they’ve never won back-to-back away league games against us before.
3 – We are looking to secure three consecutive league wins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time since our first three such games at the ground in April, 2019.
8 – Since their promotion in 2018, Wolves are unbeaten in each of their eight Premier League games in London (W3 D5) – it’s their longest unbeaten run in the capital in the top flight since a run of 11 between 1972 and 1974.
26 – Coming into this weekend’s fixtures, only the top two sides Liverpool (45) and Manchester City (32) have won more Premier League points than us since Jose Mourinho took charge (26).
Played for both
A legend of N17, Robbie Keane scored 122 goals for us in 306 appearances, putting him 11th on our all-time goalscoring chart. Beginning his professional career at the age of 17 with Wolves, he burst onto the scene at Molineux with performances which saw him quickly earn moves to Coventry City, Inter and Leeds United. Yet, in 2002, he went on to find a Club to call his home as he settled in nicely at White Hart Lane and continued to fire home the goals.
It would be difficult to put together a top 10 of his best goals, there were just that many and each of them unique in their execution – what never changed, however, was that famous celebration, the cartwheel and forward roll towards the crowd – a Keano trademark! Either side of a brief stint at Liverpool, he had two spells with us over almost a decade and in that time was part of our 2008 League Cup-winning side – a trophy which came in a period where Robbie enjoyed some of his best moments alongside strike partner Dimitar Berbatov.
He became the Republic of Ireland's all-time top goalscorer, scoring 68 in almost 150 international caps, and in his later career he moved to both the USA to play for MLS side LA Galaxy and India where he appeared for ATK under the stewardship of former Spur Teddy Sherringham.
This season he has linked up with another of our ex-players at Championship side Middlesbrough as he is assistant at the Riverside to Boro manager Jonathan Woodgate, while he also carries out the same duties with the Republic of Ireland.
Quick quiz on Wolves
- Who scored the opener in our 2-1 win over Wolves at Molineux in December, 2019?
- Lucas Moura
- Harry Kane
- Heung-Min Son
- Former Spur Sebastien Bassong spent part of the 2011/12 season on loan from us with Wolves, but at which French side did he begin his career?
- Montpellier
- Metz
- Marseille
- Playing for Wolves later in his career, midfielder Paul Stewart joined us from Manchester City in which year?
- 1988
- 1989
- 1990
- Which of these following forwards scored against Wolves on his Spurs debut back in September, 2011?
- Rafael van der Vaart
- Louis Saha
- Emmanuel Adebayor
- We last welcomed Wolves to N17 in 2012 for a Premier League clash that ended in a 1-1 draw. Who scored our goal?
- Luka Modric
- Scott Parker
- Aaron Lennon
(Answers at the bottom of the page.)
Match data
Venue – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Opposition colours – Gold shirts, black shorts, black socks.
Referee – Stuart Attwell.
Weather forecast – Mostly cloudy, nine degrees.
Answers: 1 - Lucas Moura; 2 – Metz; 3 – 1988; 4 - Emmanuel Adebayor; 5 - Luka Modric.
