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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 18
Tottenham Hotspur v Everton
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
London, England
Saturday, 23 December 2023
Kick-off is at 15h00
Everton will have their tails up when they make the long journey to the capital to face Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, December 23.
The threat of relegation loomed over the Toffees after they were handed a 10-point deduction a month ago for breaches of the
Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.
However, Sean Dyche's side have recorded four wins on the spin and their 2-0 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor on December 16 took them seven points clear of the drop zone in 16th position.
Nottingham Forest fell to 17th place after suffering their fifth defeat in six games, while the bottom three of Luton (18th), the Clarets (19th) and Sheffield United (20th) remain unchanged.
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Spurs beat the Tricky Trees 2-0 at the City Ground on December 15 to make it back-to-back wins in the league and get their top-four challenge going again.
Ange Postecoglou's side closed within a point of Manchester City, who dropped more points in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on December 16 which left them five points adrift of the league summit in fourth spot.
Dejan Kulusevski has been in scintillating form for the North Londoners of late and starred in the victory at Forest, picking out Richarlison with a superb cross to open the scoring before punishing a poor clearance from Matt Turner to lash the ball home at the near post. The Swedish winger has now contributed two goals and two assists in his last four outings.
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Dwight McNeil has found a new lease on life under his former Burnley manager, Dyche to become a key figure at Goodison Park. The Clarets youth product got off the mark for 2023-24 with the winner against Forest and also scored in the victory over Newcastle as well as providing an assist in that game and at Turf Moor most recently.
Postecoglou praised his players for coping with Forest's direct approach to come away with all three points and a clean sheet.
"I'm really proud of the lads. We had to earn the win tonight, it was a tough game, they're (Forest) obviously desperate for results here and it's not an easy place to come to," he told SPURSPLAY.
"They test you in ways other teams don't, a lot of long throws in the box and things we had to deal with, but I thought we held out really well and still played some decent football at times, created some good chances and scored two good goals."
Dyche has urged his team to keep the momentum going over the hectic festive period and hailed their adaptability to pick up another three precious points against his former club.
"The players are feeling great as you can imagine but they're earning it," he said. "It's a brilliant feeling - I know from playing myself and I wasn't as good as these guys but you can feel it.
"You can sense it in the group, with the way that we're stepping on to games and the way that we're working so hard and the understanding is growing, tactically to see games through and the ability to win in different styles - and that's so pleasing for me as a manager and the rest of the staff."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Tottenham - 2
Everton - 0
Draws - 3
Premier League Matchday 18 fixtures:
Thursday, December 21
20h00: Crystal Palace v Brighton & Hove Albion
Friday, December 22
20h00: Aston Villa v Sheffield United
Saturday, December 23
12h30: West Ham United v Manchester United
15h00: Fulham v Burnley
15h00: Luton Town v Newcastle United
15h00: Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth
15h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Everton
17h30: Liverpool v Arsenal
Sunday, December 24
13h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea
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