Sports Mole

Both aiming to kickstart their 2024-25 Premier League campaigns at the second attempt, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton pit their wits against one another in North London on Saturday afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou's men appeared to be coasting to victory at newly-promoted Leicester City on Monday, only to fail to build on Pedro Porro's goal and eventually being hit with a Jamie Vardy-sized sucker punch in a 1-1 stalemate.

The Lilywhites still fared better than their Merseyside counterparts, who were embarrassed 3-0 at home by Brighton & Hove Albion and have rarely possessed that winning feeling in this fixture.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 188

Spurs wins: 71

Draws: 60

Everton wins: 57

As two of the Premier League's six ever-present teams - the others being Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea - meetings between Everton and Tottenham are regular occurrences and have in fact been since their inaugural FA Cup showdown in 1904.

Fast-forward 120 years, and there have been 188 competitive clashes between the London and Merseyside giants, the former of whom boast the head-to-head superiority with 71 triumphs to their name, although Everton are not too far behind with 57.

Another 60 matches between Spurs and the Toffees have ended with the spoils shared, including their most recent top-flight encounter in February 2024, where Richarlison would seemingly have the last laugh at his old stomping ground with a brace before Jarrad Branthwaite's last-gasp leveller.

While Dyche's men rightly earned plaudits for their fighting spirit in that four-goal stalemate, they are now without a win in seven straight matches against Tottenham, whom they have not prevailed against since a nine-goal FA Cup spectacular in 2021 under Carlo Ancelotti.

That astounding 5-4 success came shortly after Everton's most recent Premier League triumph against Spurs, which appropriately came at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the start of the 2020-21 season, where Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted the game's only goal.

However, the Toffees' 1-0 success four years ago is the only Premier League victory they have marched to in their last 23 top-flight contests versus the Lilywhites, and they have not won successive meetings on Tottenham's turf since a run of three at White Hart Lane between 2006 and 2008.

In December 2023, Tottenham handed out Christmas presents to their supporters two days early with a slender 2-1 victory - where Richarlison was again on target against his former employers - and previous 2-0 and 5-0 successes mean that Spurs are searching for their fourth straight home win over Everton on Saturday.

The Lilywhites also boast more overall goals (102) and home strikes (63) against Everton than any other side in the Premier League, and 15 of the former have been supplied by Harry Kane, by far and away the highest individual scorer in this battle.

While he is now behind Dominic Solanke in the pecking order, another Richarlison effort this weekend would draw him level with Wayne Rooney (four) as the former Everton player to have scored the most goals against the Toffees since leaving the club.

Last 20 meetings

Feb 03, 2024: Everton 2-2 Spurs (Premier League)

Dec 23, 2023: Spurs 2-1 Everton (Premier League)

Apr 03, 2023: Everton 1-1 Spurs (Premier League)

Oct 15, 2022: Spurs 2-0 Everton (Premier League)

Mar 07, 2022: Spurs 5-0 Everton (Premier League)

Nov 07, 2021: Everton 0-0 Spurs (Premier League)

Apr 16, 2021: Everton 2-2 Spurs (Premier League)

Feb 10, 2021: Everton 5-4 Spurs (FA Cup Fifth Round)

Sep 13, 2020: Spurs 0-1 Everton (Premier League)

Jul 06, 2020: Spurs 1-0 Everton (Premier League)

Nov 03, 2019: Everton 1-1 Spurs (Premier League)

May 12, 2019: Spurs 2-2 Everton (Premier League)

Dec 23, 2018: Everton 2-6 Spurs (Premier League)

Jan 13, 2018: Spurs 4-0 Everton (Premier League)

Sep 09, 2017: Everton 0-3 Spurs (Premier League)

Mar 05, 2017: Spurs 3-2 Everton (Premier League)

Aug 13, 2016: Everton 1-1 Spurs (Premier League)

Jan 03, 2016: Everton 1-1 Spurs (Premier League)

Aug 29, 2015: Spurs 0-0 Everton (Premier League)

May 24, 2015: Everton 0-1 Spurs (Premier League)

Last 10 Premier League meetings

Feb 03, 2024: Everton 2-2 Spurs (Premier League)

Dec 23, 2023: Spurs 2-1 Everton (Premier League)

Apr 03, 2023: Everton 1-1 Spurs (Premier League)

Oct 15, 2022: Spurs 2-0 Everton (Premier League)

Mar 07, 2022: Spurs 5-0 Everton (Premier League)

Nov 07, 2021: Everton 0-0 Spurs (Premier League)

Apr 16, 2021: Everton 2-2 Spurs (Premier League)

Sep 13, 2020: Spurs 0-1 Everton (Premier League)

Jul 06, 2020: Spurs 1-0 Everton (Premier League)

Nov 03, 2019: Everton 1-1 Spurs (Premier League)

Read more on Spurs vs Everton

Premier League football returns to the King Power Stadium on Monday evening, when Leicester City host Tottenham Hotspur in their first game back in the top flight.

The Foxes won the 2023-24 Championship and now kick off a new era under Steve Cooper, while the Lilywhites just missed out on a top-four placement last season, and here Sports Mole rounds up the team news for both clubs.

LEICESTER CITY vs. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

LEICESTER CITY

Out: Jamie Vardy (knock), Patson Daka (ankle), Conor Coady (hamstring)

Doubtful: Luke Thomas (unspecified)

Sports Mole's predicted XI: Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin; Winks, Ndidi, Soumare; Reid, Mavididi, Fatawu

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Out: Yves Bissouma (club suspension)

Doubtful: Richarlison (calf), Fraser Forster (foot)

Sports Mole's predicted XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Solanke

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here. body check tags ::

Tottenham Hotspur's record signing Dominic Solanke is in line to make his full Premier League debut for the club when they meet Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday.

After joining from Bournemouth in a deal that could fetch up to £65m, Solanke was presented to the Tottenham crowd in their recent friendly loss to Bayern Munich, and Ange Postecoglou confirmed in the week that he had been training well.

As Richarlison is still dealing with a calf problem and has been absent throughout pre-season, Solanke should be given the nod up front for the 2024-25 opener, spearheading an otherwise familiar attack.

Dejan Kulusevski and captain Son Heung-min - able to cause havoc on the left flank thanks to Solanke filling the central void - will start out wide, as James Maddison pulls the strings in the number 10 slot.

After filming himself inhaling laughing gas, Yves Bissouma was slapped with a one-game suspension by Postecoglou, who should therefore call on Pape Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur to man the midfield; the latter memorably suffered an ACL injury in Spurs' last visit to the King Power in 2023.

Postecoglou has chopped and changed his defence throughout pre-season owing to international absences and injuries, but the Australian should have his first-choice backline available in front of Guglielmo Vicario.

Destiny Udogie has fully recovered from a quadriceps operation, while Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro are all raring to go too.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Solanke

> Click here to see how Leicester could line up for this match

No Data Analysis info

Leicester City manager Steve Cooper is facing an unwelcome attacking conundrum for Monday's Premier League opener against Tottenham Hotspur at the King Power Stadium.

During their final match of pre-season - a 3-0 loss to Lens - Patson Daka suffered a severe ankle injury which required surgery, and the striker faces a few months on the sidelines.

Daka is one of two Leicester strikers in the medical bay, as the veteran Jamie Vardy has been plagued by a knock throughout the summer and is still a couple of weeks away from a comeback.

With Daka and Vardy sidelined, Tom Cannon is the only out-and-out striker in Cooper's ranks, but the Foxes boss may instead side with ex-Arsenal youngster Stephy Mavididi in a central role.

Bobby Decordova-Reid and Abdul Fatawu will likely flank Mavididi in Leicester's attacking trident, while former Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks should feature from the off against his old club.

Should Cooper opt for a more conservative shape, Wilfred Ndidi and Boubakary Soumare may join the Englishman in the middle, but the injured Conor Coady (hamstring) will not be manning the defence.

Instead, Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes could act as Mads Hermansen's central shield, in between full-backs James Justin and Ricardo Pereira; Luke Thomas requires a late fitness test.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin; Winks, Ndidi, Soumare; Reid, Mavididi, Fatawu

Premier League Monday night football makes its long-awaited return on August 19, as Tottenham Hotspur provide Leicester City with a stern test of their top-flight credentials at the King Power Stadium.

The Foxes are adjusting to life without Championship-winning coach Enzo Maresca, while Spurs have top-four desires to fulfil after coming so close yet so far last term.

Match preview

© Imago

With the Arsenal-Tottenham rivalry still as bitter as ever, a chunk of Lilywhites fans happily relinquished their hopes of watching their side play Champions League football in 2024-25 at the expense of the Gunners' title dream, as a 2-0 home loss to Manchester City in the closing stages of the campaign proved telling on two fronts.

After an apoplectic Ange Postecoglou ranted and raved about supporters siding against their team, Spurs still wound up in a respectable fifth position to earn direct entry into the Europa League, but there was a palpable sense of what could have been for the North London crop.

No manager had ever taken more than 25 points in their first 10 Premier League games before Postecoglou hit the 26-mark, but as injuries and inconsistency began to take its toll, Tottenham spent most of the campaign hovering on the periphery of their title-chasing rivals.

Nevertheless, Postecoglou always insisted that a top-four finish was never the priority for his first campaign in charge - rather serious signs of progression - and a praiseworthy start to pre-season saw Tottenham put all of Hearts, Queens Park Rangers, Vissel Kobe and Team K-League to the sword.

However, two defeats against two Bayern Munich sides - the latter of which featured departed top scorer Harry Kane - disrupted Spurs' summer momentum, but only one of the visitors' last eight opening-day contests in the Premier League has seen them come out on the wrong end of the scoreline.

© Imago

As Postecoglou prepares for season number two at the Tottenham helm, Monday's match will mark a maiden competitive game for Steve Cooper as Leicester head coach, after 2023-24 title-winning boss Enzo Maresca could not resist the pull of a long-term Chelsea contract.

Some members of the King Power faithful became disenchanted with Maresca's style towards the end of his reign anyway, as after leading the Championship back for months on end, a downturn in form plunged Leicester's automatic promotion hopes into serious jeopardy.

However, the 2015-16 Premier League winners ultimately survived that late scare to pip Leeds United and Ipswich Town to the crown, finishing with 97 points on the board to jump back up to the big time at the first time of asking, before swapping Maresca with ex-Nottingham Forest boss Cooper.

Like Postecoglou, the Leicester coach also oversaw a strong start to pre-season - wins over Villarreal and Shrewsbury Town - before three straight losses to Palermo, Augsburg and Lens, and the threat of a potential points deduction for alleged financial breaches is also a highly unwelcome distraction.

Leicester are not expected to learn their possible punishment fate until 2025, though, and full focus now turns to Monday's reunion with Tottenham, whom they memorably demolished 4-1 at the King Power during their most recent showdown in February 2023.

Leicester City friendly form:

Tottenham Hotspur friendly form:

Team News

© Imago

Tottenham boss Postecoglou has been laying down the law in pre-season, suspending midfielder Yves Bissouma for Monday's game after the Mali international recently filmed himself inhaling laughing gas.

Fraser Forster (foot) and Richarlison (calf) are on the touch-and-go list, but the latter has now been bumped down the pecking order by £65m arrival Dominic Solanke, who should be in line for his full Lilywhites debut on Monday night.

No Tottenham debutant since Steven Bergwijn in 2020 has netted on their first Premier League appearance for the club, while long-serving captain Son Heung-min has 13 direct involvements from 14 previous meetings with Leicester, nine of his own and four assists.

Sticking with the attacking theme, Leicester have already been dealt a devastating injury blow up front, as Patson Daka has undergone surgery for a serious ankle injury - which he sustained in the loss to Lens - and is facing a few months on the sidelines.

Jamie Vardy - a tormentor of Big Six sides during his Premier League prime - is also still on the mend from a pre-season knock, while Conor Coady (hamstring) misses out too, and Luke Thomas will require a last-minute fitness test.

With neither Daka nor Vardy available, Leicester should turn to either Tom Cannon or Stephy Mavididi to fill the void up top, while Harry Winks should be a nailed-on starter against his old club in the middle.

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin; Winks, Ndidi, Soumare; Reid, Mavididi, Fatawu

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Solanke

We say: Leicester City 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur

As Leicester are lacking two of their principle goal threats and failed to score in their last three matches of pre-season, those backing a Tottenham clean sheet should be left with a smile on their face come full time.

The Lilywhites were not exactly solid at the back in pre-season either, but Postecoglou's men have a taste for goals and should subject their hosts to a harsh welcome back to the Premier League.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the signing of English striker Dominic Solanke in a club-record deal from Bournemouth.

The 26-year-old has penned a six-year contract with the Lilywhites until the end of the 2029-30 campaign, and the Cherries are expected to receive an initial £55m plus £10m in add-ons for Solanke's sale.

Bournemouth confirmed in their statement that Solanke is now the most expensive sale in their history, and the £65m man also becomes Spurs' record signing of all time, eclipsing Tanguy Ndombele's £54m switch from Lyon in 2019.

The former Chelsea and Liverpool striker becomes Spurs' third arrival of the summer after Archie Gray and Yang Min-hyuk, and the Reds are also set to receive around £10m as part of the deal thanks to a sell-on clause.

Speaking to the Cherries website, Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake paid tribute to Solanke's professionalism while negotiations rumbled on in the background and revealed that the South Coast club were braced for a European-competing team to come calling for Solanke eventually.

Bournemouth chief offers "sincere well wishes" to Solanke

"When we identified Dominic as a target and brought him to the club five years ago, we did so with the understanding that this was always a possibility," Blake said.

"As he began to realise the great potential we knew he had, it quickly became in the club's best interest to protect his value and so we were delighted to agree terms on a new contract last summer.

"After Dominic's performances for us - in particular his impressive 2023/24 season - it has come as no surprise that a team of Tottenham's calibre has shown an interest.

"This move has developed quickly but Dominic has remained professional throughout and I'd like to thank him for that. It's a testament to the character he has always shown while at this club, on and off the pitch.

"His development since arriving in 2019 is a credit to his work rate and endeavour, as well as the platform AFC Bournemouth gives young talent to grow. We're pleased to secure a club record fee for Dominic and he also leaves with everyone's sincere well wishes at AFC Bournemouth."

Solanke steps into Harry Kane's Tottenham shoes

Solanke - who was also labelled a "club icon" by the Cherries in their exit announcement - leaves Bournemouth with a record of 77 goals and 31 assists from 216 matches across all competitions, including a terrific 19 Premier League strikes in 2023-24.

Only Cole Palmer, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland netted more goals in last season's English top flight than Solanke, who will be expected to come straight into the Tottenham XI as Ange Postecoglou's new number nine.

Having failed to secure a big-money replacement for Harry Kane last year, only bringing in the young Alejo Veliz and loaning him to Sevilla in the second half of the campaign, Tottenham relied on Richarlison and Son Heung-min as their chief attacking threats last season.

However, Richarlison could now be given the green light to leave the club amid links with Saudi Arabia, while Son is in the last year of his contract, although his terms do include a 12-month extension option.

Solanke is not expected to face Bayern Munich in Sunday's friendly, but he should be in line for his Tottenham debut in their opening Premier League match away to Leicester City on August 19. body check tags ::

Five years on from Tanguy Ndombele's failed club-record Tottenham Hotspur transfer, a Basingstoke-born striker is set to overtake the Frenchman as the Lilywhites' most expensive signing of all time.

Indeed, Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke is believed to be on the verge of joining Ange Postecoglou's side in a £65m deal, including a £55m upfront fee and a further £10m in performance-related add-ons.

The former Chelsea and Liverpool striker is expected to complete his medical imminently before putting pen to paper on a six-year contract in North London, where he will attempt to fill the boots of all-time leading scorer Harry Kane.

Solanke departs the Cherries on the back of netting 19 goals in 38 Premier League matches during the 2023-24 campaign - a tally bettered by just three players - and will become Spurs' third signing of the summer after Archie Gray and Yang Min-hyeok.

Ahead of Solanke's North London arrival, Sports Mole looks at which shirt numbers the 26-year-old could be available to the striker at Tottenham.

While he started out as Bournemouth's number 29 following his mid-season arrival from Liverpool in 2019 - a number currently taken by Pape Sarr at Tottenham - Solanke has been the Cherries' number nine in every full season he has spent at the Vitality Stadium.

That jersey is unsurprisingly in the possession of Richarlison at Tottenham Hotspur, but Solanke's arrival could very well push the Brazilian out of the door; clubs in Saudi Arabia are believed to be pushing to sign the ex-Everton man.

Should Richarlison indeed depart and vacate the number nine, Solanke should have a clear run at that revered striker's jersey, which has been sported by attackers at both ends of Spurs' success scale such as Jimmy Greaves, Les Ferdinand, Roberto Soldado and Vincent Janssen.

Interestingly, all-time leading scorer Kane was never in possession of the '9' during his illustrious Tottenham career; the England skipper spent most of his time in North London as Spurs' 10, which was inherited by creator-in-chief James Maddison last summer.

As a result, Solanke is unlikely to don the '10' that he previously wore at youth level for both club and country, but an intriguing option could free up if Giovani Lo Celso leaves amid interest from Aston Villa.

Indeed, the Argentine is currently sporting the number 18 shirt for Tottenham, which Solanke wore briefly for Chelsea's Under-19s, and star attackers such as Kane, Jermain Defoe and Jurgen Klinsmann have also donned Spurs' '18' down the years.

In terms of currently available jerseys, the '11' has been freed up by Bryan Gil's move to Girona, while the 19, 25 and 28 shirts are also awaiting their next takers; the '26' has been unofficially retired in honour of Ledley King.

A surprise exit for Son Heung-min either this summer or the next - when his contract is due to expire - would also leave the '7' available, but all of the signs surely point towards Solanke lining up as Tottenham's newest number nine in 2024-25.

body check tags ::

Tottenham Hotspur reportedly attempted to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Pedro Neto before a deal was agreed with Chelsea.

Despite suffering a number of injuries over recent seasons, Neto has been frequently linked with a transfer to a bigger club in the Premier League.

That is a consequence of his impact when fit, with two goals and nine assists coming from just 20 outings during the 2023-24 campaign.

Wolves have been in no rush to cash in on their most prized asset, yet widespread reports emerged on Friday afternoon that Chelsea would be signing the Portugal international.

The West Londoners have allegedly agreed to pay Wolves a fee of almost £54m, including add-ons, for the playmaker, who will now undergo a medical.

However, it could have seemingly been a different story had Spurs succeeded with their own offer for Neto in recent days.

Spurs made part-exchange bid

According to the Express & Star, Spurs proposed a player-plus-cash deal for Neto that was ultimately rejected.

Wolves were allegedly presented with the opportunity to sign midfielder Oliver Skipp as part of the discussions that were held between the relevant parties.

Instead, officials at the West Midlands outfit opted against substantially reducing the fee that they would recoup and proceeded with a club-record sale with Chelsea.

There is no indication as to whether Skipp would have accepted a move to Molineux, although he remains down the midfield pecking order at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

While Spurs are well stocked for options on the flanks, Neto would have likely got the nod over the likes of Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Timo Werner when fit.

Money being allocated elsewhere...

Despite having money to spend this summer, it is highly unlikely that Spurs would have splurged well in excess of £100m on just two players at this stage of the transfer window.

Spurs are now allegedly preparing to sign Bournemouth forward Dominic Solanke in a deal that could be worth £65m, providing that the player's release clause is met.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison has revealed he has turned down an offer from the Saudi Pro League.

Richarlison spent four years with Everton before completing a reported £60m move to Tottenham in the summer of 2022.

The Brazilian has experienced mixed fortunes during his time in North London, having failed to nail down a guaranteed spot under Antonio Conte and Ange Postecoglou.

After scoring just one Premier League goal in 2022-23, Richarlison did at least manage to net 11 top-flight goals in the 2023-24 campaign.

Richarlison turns down Saudi Arabia offer

Despite being under contract until June 2027, Richarlison has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League this summer.

Al-Hilal have been touted as the main contender for Richarlison's signature, with the Saudi Arabian club seemingly keen to add the Tottenham man to their list of high-profile names which include Neymar, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Richarlison has now revealed that he has received an offer from the Saudi Pro League, but he seemingly has no plans to leave Tottenham this summer.

The 27-year-old told ESPN Brasil: "There has been an offer but my dream of playing for the Brazilian Selecao and in the Premier League speaks louder. The money is big but my dreams are bigger."

Richarlison is evidently keen to force his way back into the national set-up after missing out on selection for the recent Copa America due to injury.

Will Richarlison get regular playing time this season?

Richarlison made 18 Premier League starts last season as Postecoglou tended to alternate between the Brazilian and Son Heung-min as his sole centre-forward.

While Richarlison will be keen to establish himself as a regular starter, there is a risk that he could fall down the pecking order for the 2024-25 campaign.

Tottenham are currently searching for a new number nine to fill the void created by Harry Kane's move to Bayern Munich last summer.

Spurs are believed to be pursuing a move for Bournemouth forward Dominic Solanke, who is attracting interest after scoring 19 goals in 38 Premier League games last season.