EPL

Kane starts for Tottenham at Brentford as Premier League resumes

By Sports Desk December 26, 2022

Harry Kane hoped to put his World Cup heartbreak behind him as he was named in Tottenham's starting line-up for Monday's trip to Brentford.

Kane missed a late penalty for England in their 2-1 quarter-final defeat to France in Qatar earlier this month.

With Tottenham and Brentford set to play the first Premier League game since the World Cup ended with Lionel Messi and Argentina beating Les Bleus in last week's final, it had been speculated that Spurs boss Antonio Conte would rest players who had featured in the latter stages of the tournament.

However, Kane was included in the team to face the Bees, along with other World Cup participants Son Heung-min, Ivan Perisic, Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Captain Hugo Lloris was named on the bench, with Fraser Forster getting the nod in goal, and World Cup winner Cristian Romero was left out altogether.

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank – fresh from signing a new deal until 2027 – named Ivan Toney in his starting line-up, despite the striker recently being charged with 262 alleged misconduct offences related to betting rules that took place over a four-year period.

The 26-year-old has until January 4 to respond.

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  • Arteta wants to prove supercomputer wrong as Arsenal prepare for derby test Arteta wants to prove supercomputer wrong as Arsenal prepare for derby test

    Mikel Arteta is looking to prove the Opta supercomputer wrong as Arsenal prepare for perhaps the biggest test of their Premier League title credentials, in Sunday's North London derby at Tottenham.

    Arsenal began the weekend one point clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, though Pep Guardiola's men have a game in hand and have been in ominous form lately, winning their last four league matches. 

    Five wins for City will ensure they retain their crown, and according to the Opta supercomputer, the champions started the weekend with a 71.7% chance of topping the pile, compared to 26.6% for Arsenal and just 1.7% for Liverpool.

    Arteta hopes to see Arsenal's figure boosted by a derby win, saying: "I don't know what to say, hopefully we can trick that computer and make it a bit higher! 

    "Maybe it needs to update the software, we need to help it or give it more tools. Hopefully we can change that!

    "We are there. We have to look at ourselves and try to perform in the best possible way to win our matches and I can't wait to see what happens.

    "We had a big win in the last London derby against Chelsea and now we have another big one. I'm sure if we're going to win the league, we're going to have to beat Spurs as well."

    Tottenham, meanwhile, need points if they are to overhaul Aston Villa in the battle for Champions League qualification, with fifth place now extremely unlikely to be enough.

    Ange Postecoglou, though, is more interested in seeing how Spurs measure up to a side they hope to challenge in the future.

    "We understand the importance of the game but ultimately, it's still about us measuring ourselves against the teams we want to be challenging on a more consistent basis," Postecoglou said.

    "It's a great opportunity to do that on Sunday."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Tottenham – Son Heung-min 

    Son scored twice for Spurs in the reverse fixture against Arsenal in September – a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium. In all competitions, only five players have scored more goals in the fixture's history than Son's seven. 

    The only player to score multiple goals in both north London derby matches in a league season was Arsenal's Ted Drake, who did so back in 1934-35.

    Arsenal – Martin Odegaard 

    Odegaard has been involved in six goals in his last six away appearances in the Premier League, scoring three and assisting three.

    The Gunners captain was in mesmerising form in Tuesday's 5-0 win over Chelsea, leading all players on the pitch for assists (two), chances created (eight), passes into the final third (34) and duels won (eight). A repeat performance would be huge for the visitors' title hopes.

    MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN

    Tottenham have won just one of their last six Premier League games against Arsenal (one draw, four defeats), with their four losses in this span as many as they had suffered in their previous 16 against the Gunners (six wins, six draws).

    They also lost this exact fixture 2-0 last season, meaning the Gunners could win on back-to-back league trips to Tottenham for the first time since enjoying a run of three victories there between 1987 and 1988.

    Arteta's men know there is no margin for error with the title race in City's hands.

    Even a draw could prove fatal to their hopes – at the end of the 2015-16 season, the North London derby was the most drawn fixture in Premier League history, with 20 of 48 meetings finishing level (42 per cent). Since then, only four matches between these rivals have seen the points shared (27 per cent).

    Arsenal have kept six straight clean sheets on their travels in the Premier League, with only two teams ever keeping seven in a row – Chelsea from September to December 2008 and Manchester United from November to February in 2008-09. The Gunners should have enough to grind out a huge win.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Tottenham – 31%

    Arsenal – 41.3% 

    Draw – 27.7%

  • Postecoglou not motivated by denting Arsenal's title hopes in north London derby Postecoglou not motivated by denting Arsenal's title hopes in north London derby

    Ange Postecoglou insists Tottenham must focus on themselves heading into the north London derby with Arsenal, rather than on denting their rivals' Premier League title hopes.

    With four matches remaining, the Gunners are a point clear at the summit from reigning champions Manchester City, who still have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta's side in second place. 

    While Arsenal look to stay very much in the hunt for a first league crown in 20 years, fifth-place Tottenham will aim to reduce their six-point deficit to fourth-place Aston Villa, on whom they have two games in hand.

    Spurs are winless in the last three north London derbies - winning just one of the most recent six - though they twice came from behind to earn a point in September's reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium.

    And Postecoglou has his sights firmly set on beating his side's rivals, and says his players are not driven by the prospect of thwarting their opponents' title bid.

    "Not in terms of that as a motivation," he said when asked if he would like to dent Arsenal's title hopes.

    "I understand the importance of winning against your traditional rival. I never believe your motivation should revolve around the demise of somebody else.

    "Your motivation should be about yourself. We can win on Sunday, but it doesn't mean we are title contenders this year. I want to win because I want us to progress. I want us to be in a position fighting for the title.

    "If that's your kind of measure, always peering over the back fence to see what your neighbour's building, you could both have the worst houses in the street because everyone else is building beautiful places, and you're looking over the back fence."

  • Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return Leicester City seal automatic Premier League return

    Leicester City are once more a Premier League team, having bounced straight back after relegation last season.

    The Foxes secured automatic promotion without kicking a ball, as title rivals Leeds United lost 4-0 away to Queens Park Rangers on Friday.

    Marti Cifuentes' Hoops side gave their fans a reason to cheer in their final home game of the season, and the emphatic win means they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone.

    The Hoops boss told BBC Sport: "I came here, perhaps I was crazy thinking we could manage the great escape.

    "The atmosphere has been unbelievable since I came here. Everybody thought tonight could be a special night to achieve our target.

    "Big players deliver big performances and our players all did that tonight."

    Defeat ensured only Ipswich Town can now finish above Leicester, meaning the Foxes will be back in the big time.

    Ipswich, who have three games left to play, face play-off hopefuls Hull City on Saturday.

    Speaking to BBC Sport, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said: "It's not in our hands any more [automatic promotion], we need to be honest.

    "The race is not over. If Ipswich win the next two games then I will say congratulations, but if they don’t win them then we will have a lot to play for.

    "As long as we have a chance, I’m far away from giving up."

    Leicester could be crowned champions if they beat Preston North End on Monday and if Hull beat Ipswich.

    The Foxes are looking to break the 100-point barrier, despite a wobble from Enzo Maresca's side in recent months.

    After they had been so far ahead and top for all but two of the 176 days between 23 September and 17 March, an untimely dip in form handed Leeds and Ipswich hope.

    However, while Leicester celebrate their promotion, they face the daunting prospect of starting next season with a points deduction, after they were charged by the Premier League with alleged breaches of the competition's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

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