Tottenham Hotspur visit Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, hoping to turn their fortunes around in the Premier League.
Manager Ange Postecoglou has come under fire for his gung-ho tactics. They are a brilliant attacking side, but his devil-may-care approach has left them defensively susceptible.
Their problems were laid bare in the thrilling but defensively suspect 6-3 loss to Liverpool.
Spurs have been dire at home. However, they boast one of the league’s best defensive records on rival territory.
By contrast, Forest have been the surprise package of the season. Under former Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo, the Tricky Trees sit fourth, just two points behind Arsenal.
Forest’s 2-0 win over Brentford last week ended the Bees’ unbeaten home record and was their third consecutive league victory, keeping their Champions League ambitions alive.
Head-to-head
Tottenham have dominated this fixture in recent times, winning their last six Premier League meetings with Forest. They have also kept a clean sheet in their last three visits to the City Ground.
However, Forest’s current form and momentum could spell a tougher challenge for Spurs than in previous encounters.
Team news
Bentancur returning should force Yves Bissouma back to the bench after another dire performance in their last outing.
Injuries remain a concern for Postecoglou, with Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Richarlison and Ben Davies still sidelined, leaving the team very light in their rearguard.
Tottenham predicted XI
(4-2-3-1): Fraser Forster; Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie; Pape Matar Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur; Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Heung-min Son; Dominic Solanke.
