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Tottenham vs Bournemouth – Match Preview

Tottenham once again have the chance to apply more pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea this lunchtime as are afforded the luxury of playing first in a round of fixtures for the second successive weekend. Last Saturday saw them temporarily cut the gap to The Blues to four points only for it to be extended back to seven by the end of the day.

Today they play host to Bournemouth at White Hart Lane with the sole aim of reducing the gap again and making Chelsea’s trip to Old Trafford tomorrow even more crucial as we come into the final month of the season, we will have a real title race on our hands by the end of the Easter Weekend?

Tottenham are doing their very best to keep Chelsea honest and were relentless in their victory over Watford a week ago. They ran out 4-0 winners thanks to goals from Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Hueng-min Son. The supporting cast have done their bit in the absence of Harry Kane.

But now the star is back, he was given a run out in the second half with the game already wrapped up last week and Kane will now be ready to start for the visit of Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth. The question is whether Mauricio Pochettino sticks with the back four that was so successful or reverts to a back three once again.

If Pochettino does revert to a 3-4-3 it would mean that Hueng-min Son would be the man most likely to give way, that would be harsh on the South Korean after not only his two goal haul seven days ago but the performances he has turned in this month.

But there is no-one else that can be dropped right now, so Son may well have to make way if the choice of formation goes against him. But there is no doubting the contribution he has made while Kane was out injured and it has kept the clubs hopes of a first Premier League title very much alive.

Today Bournemouth will look to put in a spanner in the works though, something they failed to do when facing Chelsea last week. Antonio Conte’s men had it pretty much their own way at The Vitality Stadium as they bought to an end to The Cherries impressive unbeaten run.

Defeat meant that they have slipped to 15th in the table, although they still have a seven point buffer over Swansea in 18th. That said they are not out of the woods just yet and could still do with two more wins between now and the end of the season to maintain their Premier League stadium.

Previous to defeat against Chelsea the club managed to go on a 5 game unbeaten run, something that has just managed to alley fears of the drop for now. But they cannot afford to rest on their laurels as their is still some work to be done in a bid to stave off relegation.

In a similar situation last season, Tottenham made easy work of Bournemouth in a 3-0 win at White Hart Lane and after a stalemate at The Vitality Stadium back in October, Mauricio Pochettino will be looking to make sure they can break down a resolute Bournemouth this time around.

Bournemouth do have Tyrone Mings available from suspension after he completes his 5 match ban. The question though is whether or not he will be bought in Today after the clubs decent run of results in his absence. That is one will find the answer to in a few hours time.

Another question that will be answered is whether or not Tottenham can really make the race for the title even more interesting. They can only do their bit and win matches even if it means they are just standing still. I think this will be another win with the focus then very much switching to Old Trafford a day later. Home win for me.

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