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Tottenham's inconsistent form continued on Thursday evening as they lost 1-0 against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Following last Sunday's 1-1 draw away at Fulham, Ange Postecoglou made three changes to his Spurs team as Archie Gray, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke all came into the team.

The headline news, though, was the decision to drop Son Heung-min to the bench. Spurs had a glorious opportunity to open the scoring after eight minutes but Solanke could only shoot over the crossbar after using his strength to get the better of his marker.

Despite starting relatively well, Spurs unfortunately found themselves behind on 17 minutes as Dean Huijsen was left all alone to head home a corner at the back post. Bournemouth looked the side most likely to score the next goal, with Fraser Forster producing a fine save to his left to stop Marcus Tavernier's header from finding the far corner.

Forster was again needed in the second half to deny Justin Kluivert after a positive run into the Spurs box, before Son had a goal disallowed for offside seconds after his introduction and Pedro Porro had a powerful half-volley saved. There was to be no way back into the game for Spurs and they missed out on moving into the Premier League's top five as a result. Here are five things we spotted in the game on the south coast.

Son sub

Postecoglou raised eyebrows with his Tottenham team selection for the Bournemouth game after electing to name Son amongst the substitutes. Always seen as an automatic pick in the XI when fit and available, the head coach decided it was time to rotate and not push the South Korean too much with the team already suffering with a number of injury issues at present.

"Just rotation, mate. We've got so many games and Kulusevski had a rest at the weekend, it's Sonny's turn today," he told Amazon Prime when explaining his selection call. "We've got to be really careful as we're thin on numbers and we've got to look after our players."

You can count on one hand the amount of times Son has been cut from the team when available, with the player notably responding in the best way possible with a hat-trick in the space of 13 minutes after coming on against Leicester City in September 2022. Son's absence saw Spurs initially line up with an attacking trio of Kulusevski, Solanke and Brennan Johnson before the captain was introduced just prior to the hour mark.

Son was to have an immediate impact on the game as he had a goal chalked off for offside and then teed James Maddison up for a chance that the midfielder curled wide. He even finished the game playing in a slightly deeper role to usual as Postecoglou made some attacking changes in hope of getting something from the game.

Right-back pecking order

Porro's run of starting in all of Tottenham's Premier League games this season finally came to an end at Bournemouth. An ever-present in the league for the Lilywhites, the Spaniard was given a breather as he dropped down to the bench as Gray came into the side.

Central midfield may be viewed as the youngster's long-term position but for now he is clearly seen as a full-back in Postecoglou's immediate thinking. It was in fact the 18-year-old's first Premier League start for Tottenham, adding to his seven starts in the team's cup fixtures this term.

Gray's selection in Porro's place also highlighted the pecking order when it comes to right-back as Djed Spence, who is a natural in the role, had to settle for a place on the bench as his former Leeds teammate was selected ahead of him. So far this term, the vast majority of Spence's football has come on the opposite side of the pitch.

Gray's perfect timing

It was a big night for Gray as he made his first of what should be many starts in the Premier League for Tottenham. Just unable to get a consistent set of minutes in the league despite catching the eye in both the Carabao Cup and Europa League, the youngster didn't look out of place at right-back before he later shifted across to centre-back.

There was one moment inside the first 11 minutes when Gray showed his undoubted quality as he dashed Bournemouth's hopes on the counter. Looking to profit from a Spurs corner as they raced away upfield, Gray produced a sublime slide tackle on Kluivert midway inside his own half to come away with the ball.

He had to time it to perfection as he would have either picked up a booking for a foul or seen his opponent race towards Fraser Forster's goal. Gray did indeed execute it perfectly as he demonstrated the quality that he has in his locker.

Same old story

It was a fairly comfortable evening for Bournemouth goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga with Tottenham barely forcing him into action. Apart from a very tame effort from Kulusevski in the opening minutes that was all too comfortable for the Spaniard, the experienced goalkeeper only had to palm away a couple of dangerous corners from Maddison after the break and save low down from Porro.

Postecoglou's teams are known for their brave, attacking football but there was very little of that on show at the Vitality Stadium. Top goalscorer Johnson was hardly in the game and Maddison couldn't have a say on proceedings when Spurs needed their skipper on the night to really influence things.

It's not the first time this has happened, though, with a number of examples in recent months of Spurs just not playing positively enough, lacking energy and a failure to create chances on goal as a result. It was no wonder Postecoglou looked extremely unimpressed when watching on.

Spurs were better after the restart but they still didn't do nowhere enough to leave the Vitality Stadium with points in the bag. Their inconsistent form, coupled with the injuries, is proving extremely problematic this season and now they have the small issue of free-scoring Chelsea making the trip across the capital on Sunday afternoon.

January transfer must

There appears to be no end in sight to Tottenham's rotten luck on the injury front. Already without players such as Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Richarlison, Spurs were dealt more cruel luck against Bournemouth as another player limped off injured.

This time it was Ben Davies who made way midway through the second half with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. The Welshman went to ground after Maddison had shot wide and it resulted in an unwanted change in such a key position of the pitch.

Spurs are so short at centre-back right now and the hope will be that Romero and Van de Ven can make their comeback as soon as possible. Without a recognised centre-back on the bench, Gray was moved across to the left-sided centre-back role following Davies' exit.

Tottenham's current predicament could possibly result in the teenager starting in Sunday's London derby clash against Chelsea unless of course there is a boost on the injury front over the coming days. The north London club were undone by a lack of options last year and they cannot afford for history to repeat itself 12 months on.

A new centre-back is a must in the January transfer window because things will only go from bad to worse on the injury front for Tottenham knowing their luck.

Tottenham defender Ben Davies was forced off with what appeared to be an injury during Spurs' Premier League clash with Bournemouth.

The centre-back appeared to pick up a hamstring injury in the second half at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday night. The Welshman was replaced by Pedro Porro with just under 30 minutes of the match remaining.

Davies had been partnered with Radu Dragusin at the centre of Tottenham's defence due to Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven already being injured. Romero has missed the last few games with a foot issue picked up over the November international break while representing Argentina. Van de Ven has been missing since picking up a hamstring injury in the Carabao Cup win over Manchester City in October.

Romero may be close to making a return, however. Speaking earlier this week Ange Postecoglou said: "He's due to have his last session or last couple of sessions with the rehab guys, today and tomorrow. So we're kind of hoping that back into training, potentially by Friday. At the very latest early next week, if everything goes well."

Elsewhere, Guglielmo Vicario, Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur (through suspension) are currently missing. Davies' injury would be a blow for Tottenham, with the 31-year-old currently the club's fourth choice centre-back. He has made 11 appearances this season, with four of those coming in the league.

After the Bournemouth game Spurs still have seven games left to play in December, with the busy fixture schedule testing the Lilywhites' squad depth to the max. Next up for the north Londoners is a home clash against Chelsea on Sunday, which is then followed by Rangers in the Europa League and Southampton away on Sunday, December 16.

Ange Postecoglou has revealed that his decision to drop Son Heung-min from the Tottenham team to take on Bournemouth is simply down to rotation. Always an automatic starter in the Spurs XI, Postecoglou elected to take the South Korean out of the team and name him on the bench for the game on the south coast.

In Son's absence, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson make up Tottenham's attacking trio. Asked to explain Son's omission when speaking in his pre-match interview, Postecoglou highlighted the need to be careful with his players due to a lack of numbers at present.

"Just rotation, mate. We've got so many games and Kulusevski had a rest at the weekend, it's Sonny's turn today," he told Amazon Prime. "We've got to be really careful as we're thin on numbers and we've got to look after our players."

Son, who has spent time on the sidelines through injury this season, has so far contributed four goals and four assists from his first 14 appearances this term. The 32-year-old's form was a talking point when speaking to the media on Wednesday and Postecoglou revealed that people should be wary about writing his player off.

"I think there were questions about Mo [Salah] maybe a year or so ago," said the Australian. "I would be wary about doing that, go for it! It might help me if you write him off!

"I don't get that sense. I still feel from a physical output and the quality he has and certainly from a mentality point of view, I haven't seen it. What I do know is, from my own experience, the end comes pretty quickly. It's not falling off a cliff but you find with a lot of great players that all of a sudden it's gone from bang to bang, it's not a slow deterioration.

"I don't see that in Sonny, I still think he's got a hell of a lot of quality and from a physical standpoint, the way he looks after himself; I don't see his abilities diminishing just due to the age factor at the moment. I don’t see that. You weigh up the output of it and he is not at the level so far this year that he has been in previous years but that's a pretty high standard he's had in the past.

"Can he get there this year? I still think he can. I think a lot of that is down to consistent game time. He's had a bit of a disrupted start this year where's he's had a couple of setbacks where he hasn't played regularly. I think with Sonny the more regularly he plays so the increase in that output. So the answer is no, I don’t think so, and I'd be wary about writing him off."

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is already looking to the future following the 5-1 win over Southampton on Wednesday night. The Blues came out as comfortable winners against the Premier League's bottom team. Goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho earned them a third Premier League win in a row and moved them up to second place in the standings.

The win extended Maresca's dominance over Southampton. In the three games his teams have faced the Saints, they have scored 14 goals and conceded just twice.

For Chelsea and Maresca, concentration is already on the next match, though. The Blues travel to Tottenham on Sunday afternoon (4.30pm) for a mouth-watering London derby.

Ahead of the match, Maresca has taken to social media to send somewhat of a warning to Spurs over his team's performances. Along with a picture of him on the training ground, he wrote: "Early wake up with the right energy to continue improving."

The head coach also shared a post from Chelsea on his Instagram story which outlined the attacking output of his team so far this season, which reads: "The Blues have scored 57 goals in 22 matches in all competitions this season, our best goals-per-game ratio in a single season in our history."

A win against Tottenham would increase the talk of Chelsea being contenders in this season's Premier League title race. But it's something that Maresca is likely to brush off, once again.

During his pre-match press conference for Southampton, he was asked if he still believed that his side were not in the title race. Maresca replied: "Absolutely, yes."

He then added: "To be in the title race, it is a nice pressure for me and the players. It's not that kind of pressure that you don't like. It's that kind of pressure that you like because you are in the title race, but it is not our case.

"Arsenal, in the last two years, they were very, very close to City and Liverpool, they have been there. We were not there. Hopefully, soon, we can be there."

Ange Postecoglou has named his Tottenham side to take on Bournemouth in the Premier League on Thursday evening and captain Son Heung-min is on the bench.

The Spurs head coach is coming off an unbeaten week following the big 4-0 win at Manchester City and then draws at home against Roma and Fulham. The nature of those draws, with Tottenham leading in both games, left a disappointing taste but the north London club will have to muster their energy together as the games come every three to four days.

Postecoglou has former Cherries striker Dominic Solanke back from illness while Archie Gray's dead leg suffered late on against Fulham does not appear to have prevented him from being available for this game and he starts to give Pedro Porro a rest ahead of Sunday's derby against Chelsea.

Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore and the suspended Rodrigo Bentancur all remain out.

The Spurs boss rested the in-form Dejan Kulusevski from his line-up against Fulham and the Swede is back in the starting line-up with captain Son dropping to the bench.

Here's the team Postecoglou has chosen to face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium:

Forster; Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Kulusevski, Solanke, Johnson. Subs: Austin, Spence, Porro, Reguilon, Bergvall, Olusesi, Son, Werner, Lankshear.

Ange on Son's form

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min is currently struggling for form in the final third.

Ange Postecoglou was asked about his player when speaking to the media at Hotspur Way on Wednesday morning and he said people should be wary about writing Spurs' No.7 off.

Can he get there this year? I still think he can. I think a lot of that is down to consistent game time. He's had a bit of a disrupted start this year where's he's had a couple of setbacks where he hasn't played regularly. I think with Sonny the more regularly he plays so the increase in that output. So the answer is no, I don’t think so, and I'd be wary about writing him off.

You can read Postecoglou's full quotes on Son right here.

Bournemouth injury news

It is not just Tottenham who have been hit by injuries in recent weeks.

Bournemouth have also lost a handful of key players of late but Andoni Iraola is hopeful that one of his main men can play a part in Thursday's game.

Read here.

Every word from Ange

Ange Postecoglou was in front of the media at Hotspur Way on Wednesday to preview Tottenham's showdown against Bournemouth.

Giving an update on team news and when Cristian Romero could return, Postecoglou also spoke about the possibility of signing a new striker, Djed Spence's lack of game time, Mikey Moore's absence and so much more.

A full transcript of the press conference can be found right here.

Vote now

The voting for Tottenham's Fans' Footballer of the Year 2024 award is now open.

Four players are battling to win the coveted gong and you can vote for your winner down below.

Dejan Kulusevski, Micky van de Ven, Brennan Johnson and Son Heung-min are this year's nominees, as selected by football.london's Alasdair Gold.

Predicted team

Ange Postecoglou will once again have limited options to choose from in certain positions when it comes to naming his Tottenham team to take on Bournemouth.

Injuries have hit Spurs hard of late, with Rodrigo Bentancur's seven-match domestic suspension also leaving them without a key midfielder at such a crucial time in the calendar.

So who exactly will start against the Cherries?

You can find out Alasdair Gold's team selection by clicking here.

TV channel

Tottenham fans not making the trip to the Vitality Stadium this evening can still watch the game live on TV in the UK.

Amazon Prime are broadcasting Bournemouth vs Tottenham, with coverage starting at 6.30pm on the mobile and TV app, as well as online, to paying customers.

Gabby Logan will be on presenting duty for Amazon Prime and will be joined by Jermain Defoe, Les Ferdinand and Eni Aluko.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to football.london's live coverage of Tottenham's Premier League clash against Bournemouth.

It really is an important game for Ange Postecoglou's men as they bid to return to winning ways after last weekend's draw against Fulham.

Stay tuned over the next few hours as we bring you all the latest ahead of the 8.15pm kick-off on the south coast.

Tottenham Hotspur icon Jermain Defoe has revealed that his stint at Bournemouth - from 2017-2020 - was one of the hardest parts of his career after struggling for regular first-team football.

The now-retired England international joined the Cherries after another former club in Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League. Defoe had scored 37 goals in 93 appearances for the Black Cats across three seasons but his goals weren't enough to keep them in the top-flight.

Despite making 26 appearances in the 2017-2018 campaign, Defoe only managed four goals and he was limited to just eight appearances in all competitions the following season, before moving to Rangers.

"People are always going to doubt you. Even when I went back to Bournemouth I wasn't playing and when I think about it, that was one of the hardest times in my career," said Defoe on the Football Firsts podcast as he reflected back on that part of his career.

Defoe continued: "I remember sitting in my car after certain games when I hadn't even come on the pitch. I get goosebumps talking about this. I remember looking at my phone thinking; 'Who can I talk to?' I was just thinking about who I could speak to because I was feeling so hurt. I had never felt that before.

"I needed to think about how I was going to deal with the situation because the only thing that's ever given me that much joy is football, but now I could see the end. I was at a club where I wasn't even getting on the pitch. I was training, but there was nothing at the end of it. I was training hard and scoring goals, but I needed that buzz that I've always had since I was eight-years-old.

"I just remember sitting there and thinking I'm going to phone my Mum and say to her; 'That's me done, I'm not playing anymore, I can't deal with it'.

"Then I got a call to go to Rangers. As soon as I'd got to Rangers, I remember we played against Kilmarnock and I got that fire back. When I started scoring goals there, I thought; 'That's for all the people who were saying stuff'."

Tottenham play the final game of the midweek Premier League matchday as they take on Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium. Spurs' inconsistencies have come to the fore in recent weeks with the only victory from their last five fixtures being the 4-0 demolition of Manchester City.

Injuries have certainly not helped matters with the spine of Postecoglou's team currently missing. Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are all dealing with issues while Rodrigo Bentancur, just as he was getting into a good spell, was hit with a seven-game ban by the FA for racist comments towards captain Son Heung-min.

Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore are the forwards to have missed some action recently with Dominic Solanke also a doubt to feature against his former club after not being named in the squad that drew to Fulham last Sunday because of illness.

With that being said, the Lilywhites have been left very light in certain areas which has resulted in the same players being used. Fatigue was likely one of the reasons Dejan Kulusevski was benched over the weekend and Postecoglou now faces a big decision in midfield.

Yves Bissouma is expected to remain as the No.6 but only two of Kulusevski, James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr can accompany him in the engine room. Given the task that awaits, deploying both Maddison and Kulusevski in midfield seems unlikely, but the latter could still start in place of Brennan Johnson out wide.

Sarr featuring meanwhile, appears very likely with his running power and engine a huge asset Postecoglou could certainly do with against the Cherries. And it looks as though that could prove to be the case with Tottenham dropping a huge hint Sarr will be involved.

Alongside Timo Werner, Fraser Forster and Ben Davies, with the latter almost guaranteed to start, Sarr is featured on Spurs' matchday graphic which frequently includes players set for a prominent role in the game.

Such is the current state of the Premier League table, a win for Spurs could move them up to fifth. Meanwhile, a victory for Bournemouth would take them above Postecoglou's side with it possible they drop down as far as tenth if Fulham also beat Brighton.

Tottenham will be looking to kickstart the busy Christmas period with three points when they face Bournemouth in the Premier League late today.

After their fantastic 4-0 win away to Manchester City, Spurs have failed to capitalise on their momentum or find some consistency, with Ange Postecoglou's side drawing 2-2 to Roma in the Europa League before being held to a 1-1 draw against Fulham on the weekend. Next up is another Premier League clash for the Lilywhites, with a trip to Bournemouth marking the start of a hectic winter schedule.

Games between Spurs and Bournemouth more than not produce plenty of goals, with four or more gals being scored in eight of the last 14 meetings between the two sides. Last time out saw Spurs win 3-1 against the Cherries, with Pape Sarr, Heung-Min Son and Richarlison all getting on the scoresheet.

So, can Spurs get back to winning ways later today? Let's take a look.

We simulated Bournemouth vs Spurs to get a score prediction

To complete this simulation, we used EA FC 25 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.

We predict that the Cherries could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Adams, Christie; Outarra, Kluivert, Semenyo; Evanilson.

We predict that Spurs could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their starting XI as follows: Forster; Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Kulusevski, Solanke, Son.

A shaky start from the hosts allowed Spurs to take control of the contest in the early stages, and Postecoglou's side were unlucky not to be ahead in the opening 10 minutes when James Maddison's long-range effort swerved away from the 'keeper and onto the post. It was a convincing performance in the first half from the Lilywhites, and in the 25th minute, they took advantage of their impressive start to go ahead.

As Spurs pushed up the pitch, Maddison, Son, and Dejan Kulusevski all combined brilliantly to play through the Bournemouth midfield and into a dangerous position. Son flicked the ball to Maddison on the edge of the box who picked out the darting run of Kulusevski, and one-on-one, the Swede remained composed to fire past Kepa for 1-0.

Despite the dominant first half that saw Spurs limit the hosts to just one attempt, Bournemouth turned the game on its head after the restart, with the Cherries suffocating Postecoglou's side in their own half as they searched for an equaliser. Fraser Forster made some big stops to deny the hosts throughout the second half, but there was nothing he could do when Evanilson slid in at the back post to direct Antoine Semenyo's driven cross into the net.

In added time, the hosts thought they had snatched three points later on when Marco Senesi headed home at the back post following a late cross into the box, but the goal was swiftly ruled out for offside – a let-off for Spurs. All in all, it was a game of two halves, and the points were deservedly shared between the two sides.

EA FC 25 predicted final score: Bournemouth 1-1 Spurs

The busy run of fixtures continues for Ange Postecoglou's injury-hit squad as they make the trip to the south coast to face Bournemouth on Thursday night in the Premier League.

The Spurs boss had an unbeaten week with the big 4-0 win at Manchester City followed up by draws at home against Roma and then Fulham. The nature of those draws, with Tottenham ahead in both games, left a disappointing taste but the north London club will have to muster their energy together as the games come every three to four days.

Postecoglou could have Dominic Solanke back from illness while Archie Gray's dead leg suffered late on against Fulham does not appear to have prevented him from being available for this game. However, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore and the suspended Rodrigo Bentancur all remain out.

The Spurs boss rested the in-form Dejan Kulusevski from his line-up against Fulham and it is likely to be someone else's turn to rest in this game with a big derby against Chelsea looming on Sunday and the Blues having an extra day to recover for that.

Here's the team we reckon Postecoglou will select to face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday night.