Eight Premier League matches beckon, starting with Tottenham’s trip the North East as Gareth Bale is let loose on the improved Sunderland defence. Six three o’clock kick-offs have both the Manchester clubs involved and, with Arsenal taking on Newcastle for the cameras later this evening, it’s a day that should bring plenty of profit for Fantasy managers. We’ve now switched our chatroom to the Dugout Discussion ready to grab all your chatter while today’s matches roll on by.
The team news from the Stadium of Light offers up a surprise in the Spurs lineup: Jan Vertonghen, in imperious form of late, gets rested to the bench to make way for a Steven Caulker/Michael Dawson combination at the back. That means that William Gallas is also benched in a full shuffle – a real surprise given Tottenham’s defensive record of late.
Sunderland, in contrast, make just one change and it was expected: John O’Shea returns having missed the Boxing Day victory over Man City through illness. He takes the place of Danny Rose who is ineligible to face his parent club. It’s not clear how Martin O’Neill will set up his side: with Gareth Bale off the leash, the right-back role is likely to be the vital area. We could see Carlos Cuellar starting on the right, with O’Shea and Matt Kilgallon in the centre and Jack Colback at left-back. Alternatively, Craig Gardner could occupy the right-back role with O’Shea on the left and Colback deployed in midfield.
