Notebook – Spurs v Wolves

After Wednesday’s disappointment against Southampton, we have an immediate chance to make amends at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as we host Wolves on Sunday (2pm kick-off).

Here in the Notebook, take a look at all the key points of note ahead of the game…

1 - Ending the week on a high?

Sunday’s clash with Wolves will mark the last of a hat-trick of consecutive home games this week, and we’ll be looking to end as we started – with a win. Having defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 last Saturday to progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup, the tables then turned against another side visiting from the south coast on Wednesday, as Southampton twice came from behind to defeat us 3-2 in the Premier League. And so, this weekend, we’ll want to end the week in the right way by collecting all three points against the Wanderers, especially as this will be our last home fixture for 25 days – our next first team game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium won’t be until Monday 7 March when we take on Everton.

2 - Home sweet home

While our last home game ended in disappointment, our league form at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been rather strong this season. So far this term, we have hosted 11 Premier League games in N17 and have picked up seven wins (D1 L3). Only once in the last 14 seasons have we won more of our first 11 home league games (nine in 2016/17).

3 - Wolves at the door

While we may be enjoying strong home form this season, the visit of Wolves in the Premier League is rarely a straightforward affair. Having hosted the West Midlands side seven times in the competition to date, we have won just three of our encounters (D1 L3). First meeting in the rebranded top flight at White Hart Lane in December, 2003, we earned a 5-2 win, however, in our next five clashes in north London, we collected three points just once.

In fact, in the history of this Premier League fixture, the away side has come out on top in 53 per cent of the 15 matches to date (eight) – only the fixture of Leicester v Manchester City has seen the visitors come out on top more often (55 per cent). We did win our last home match against Wolves though, defeating them 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in May, 2021.

4 - Doing the double

While we haven’t always got the results we would have wanted against Wolves at home in the Premier League, we have also rarely done the double over them in the competition. Having faced Wanderers in seven different campaigns in the top flight since 1992, only once have we managed to beat them both home and away in a single term – that came at the first time of asking in 2003/04, as we defeated them 5-2 at White Hart Lane in December, 2003, before we earned a 2-0 win at Molineux the following May.

On Sunday though, having already defeated Bruno Lage’s side away in the league – a 1-0 win back in August – we could complete a rare double if we can overcome them on our patch.

5 - Our last meeting

While our last league meeting saw us defeat Wolves 1-0 at Molineux in August, we also came out on top against them when we returned a month later in the Carabao Cup. Drawing Wanderers in the third round of the competition, we edged them 3-2 in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw in normal time.

With just 23 minutes on the clock, we had stormed into a 2-0 lead in the West Midlands thanks to goals from Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Kane, however our hosts grew back into the game and had levelled by the hour mark – Leander Dendoncker and Daniel Podence on target – to take the game to a penalty shootout. Both teams started the shootout perfectly with each of the first four spot-kicks finding the back of the net. However, while we converted our third, Wolves missed all three of their remaining kicks, which saw us through to round four.

6 - Visitors on the rise

It has been a bright season thus far for Wolves under Bruno Lage. Despite having lost four of their first five league games of the season – which included our 1-0 win over them at Molineux in August – they soon roared into life, suffering just one defeat in their next nine domestic outings (W5 D3). Now riding high in the top flight, sitting just a place and two points behind us, they have lost only once in their last six games (W4 D1) and have won each of their last three matches on the road.

7 - Goalscorer roulette

Curiously, whenever we have faced Wolves in recent years, our goalscorers have never been the same. In our last six league meetings with Wanderers, we have scored eight goals – and each of them has come from a different scorer. Starting with our 2-1 win at Molineux in December, 2019, where Lucas Moura and Jan Vertonghen found the target, we have since seen Steven Bergwijn, Serge Aurier, Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Kane, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dele all score against them. Will we see an entirely different name on the scoresheet again on Sunday?

8 - Conte and Wolves

Antonio Conte has good memories of facing Wolves. Despite having only been in opposition to Wanderers once previously, Antonio took victory in that meeting as, during his time in charge of Chelsea (2016-18), his side edged the then-Championship outfit 2-0 at Molineux in February, 2017. With that meeting coming in the fifth round of the FA Cup, though, Sunday’s encounter will mark the Italian’s first ever league clash with the West Midlands side.

9 - Sonny to break his Wolves duck?

One new name that could make its way onto Sunday’s scoresheet is that of Heung-Min Son. Despite having scored almost 120 goals in just over 300 appearances for us since he joined us from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, Sonny has yet to score against Wolves. Despite appearing against the West Midlands side on seven occasions in the last seven years, the forward has been unable to find the back of the net, although he has provided two assists – of English sides he has faced at least five times, Wolves are they only team he is still to score against. With him being our top Premier League goalscorer so far this season, could he break his Wanderers duck this weekend?

10 - Wanderers’ away day shut outs

For any player to get on the scoresheet against Wolves this weekend will be quite the achievement in the first place as the visitors have a solid defensive record on the road this season. Coming into this game, Wanderers have conceded just eight goals away from home in Premier League fixtures so far this term – no side has conceded less than that on their travels (Chelsea and Manchester City have also conceded eight each). Meanwhile, Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa is on average conceding just one goal every 124 minutes – the second-best record in the Premier League behind City’s Ederson (one every 127 minutes).