English Premier
2026-01-04 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Sunderland
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 4th January 2025 - Kick Off 3pm
This game is live on TV
Tottenham Hotspur
Thomas Frank argued his case against the Tottenham Hotspur supporters who had been criticising his team for being 'boring' during the goalless draw at Brentford on Thursday. There is clearly plenty of work for the manager to do in order to get the fans behind him and his style and inconsistent results are not helping Thomas Frank nor the players.
They are 12th in the Premier League table and still in touch with the top five places in the standings with just 4 points between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. However, the 2-2-5 record at home where Spurs have scored and conceded 11 goals has been a massive disappointment for all concerned.
Tottenham Hotspur have won 1 of the last 4 Premier League games played and have suffered a couple of defeats in that time to slow any momentum being picked up. They had won consecutive home games for the first time since September, but Tottenham Hotspur could not make it a third victory in a row when losing 1-2 against Liverpool.
Xavi Simons completes his suspension, while Lucas Bergvall is a doubt. Dominic Solanke has been a miss for Tottenham Hotspur and cannot seemingly find solutions to an injury that has seen him miss the majority of the campaign.
Sunderland
They scratched and clawed and battled and ultimately Sunderland perhaps deserved a bit of fortune that was needed to hold Manchester City to a goalless draw at the Stadium of Light on Thursday. The squad has been stretched by a huge number of members being needed at the African Cup of Nations, but those left behind have made their mark and will give Regis Le Bris some selection headaches as others return.
Another point secured has taken Sunderland into 7th place and with 29 points on the board, which means they are almost at touching distance to confirmed Premier League Football for another season. That is the main ambition first and foremost and Sunderland make the journey down to North London with a 2-3-4 away record in the top flight.
Sunderland have lost 1 of the last 7 Premier League games played, although they have had to settle for draws in 3 fixtures in a row. They upset Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but Sunderland have not won any of the last 4 away Premier League games since then and have lost twice in that run.
Dan Ballard and Brian Brobbey are both doubts.
Head to Head
The last time Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland met was in the 2016/17 Premier League season.
Spurs have won 6 home games in a row against Sunderland, but are hosting in their new home for the first time.
Prediction
Both of these teams were involved in goalless draws on New Year's Day and there will be plenty out there backing this fixture to follow suit.
Sunderland have to be given credit for being well organised and hard to beat and the reality is that the onus is on Tottenham Hotspur to make this a spectacle being the hosts.
Even if the home team take a few more chances, it is hard to know what to expect from Sunderland as an attacking force when they have scored just 4 away goals in the Premier League all season. Half came in the win at Stamford Bridge and Sunderland will perhaps find it tough to break down a Tottenham Hotspur team that have been functional rather than exciting under Thomas Frank.
The manager does need time, but the supporters are frustrated and Tottenham Hotspur have been poor at home for some time.
Even before Thomas Frank, Spurs struggled for any consistency here and that makes it very hard to trust them.
Backing under 2.5 goals would make sense, but the odds are plenty short, and the reality is that Tottenham Hotspur have a bit more in the final third compared with the visiting team.
It also should be noted that Sunderland put in a huge effort to contain Manchester City a few days ago and the squad is not as deep without the African Cup of Nations participants to call upon. Potentially adding to that is the likelihood that Dan Ballard and Brian Brobbey miss out too and Sunderland may be looking to contain Tottenham Hotspur rather than trying to break out and attack them.
They showed in early December that it can be tough for Sunderland to play at a high level twice in the space of a few days when holding Liverpool at Anfield and then losing comfortably at Manchester City. Something similar could happen here and Tottenham Hotspur may have just enough to secure three points in front of the home faithful.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Sunderland
