Tottenham host Bournemouth in what feels like crunch time for Ange Postecoglou’s side. An embarrassing 1-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League midweek has left them with a small mountain to climb if they want to win the last remaining trophy available to them this season, but their crisis of confidence has come at the worst time with the high-flying Cherries making the trip to north London this Saturday.
Andoni Iraola’s team are seventh, just four points off the top four, while Spurs are 13th and another ten points off the pace. The hosts suffered another setback on Thursday when Dominic Solanke, the striker they signed from Bournemouth last summer, came off injured after only just making his return from a seven-week absence for a knee issue.
Bournemouth lost their last Premier League outing, a 2-1 defeat to Brighton, but will be buoyed by a penalty shootout victory over Wolves in the FA Cup last weekend, leaving them with as much a chance of silverware at the end of the season as their opponents on Sunday.
Guglielmo Vicario urges Tottenham to come together for European success
The match was mostly notable for an incident involving Guglielmo Vicario, who spared Spurs’ blushes by keeping the deficit to just one goal.
He went over to the travelling fans at full-time and appeared to gesture to them to support their team, but was met with anger rather than appreciation.
“I can understand the frustration of the fans, but we still have a lot to play for, especially in the second leg. It’s just a way of trying to stay together because we have the opportunity to go through to the next round,” Vicario said.
Flo Clifford9 March 2025 11:35
Comical own goal condemns Tottenham to embarrassing Europa League defeat
Spurs had an evening to forget against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, with Lucas Bergvall at fault for a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Europa League tie.
His sliced clearance of a Troy Parrott shot diverted into his own net, and as Spurs failed to respond it was enough for a first AZ victory against English sides in 12 games.
Ange Postecoglou’s men had eight days to prepare but the rest didn’t seem to do them any good.
Flo Clifford9 March 2025 11:20
Predicted line-ups
Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Gray, Danso, Spence; Sarr, Bentancur, Maddison; Johnson, Son, Odobert
Bournemouth XI: Kepa; Cook, Hill, Huijsen, Kerkez; Adams, Scott; Semenyo, Kluivert, Ouattara; Evanilson
Flo Clifford9 March 2025 11:15
What is the Bournemouth team news?
Ilya Zabarnyi is serving the third and final game of his three-match suspension for his red card against Wolves in their recent Premier League loss, while the likes of Enes Unal and Marcos Senesi will continue to watch from the sidelines.
One possibility is Ryan Christie, who is suffering from “something chronic”, according to Iraola.
“He is dealing with some pain and I think it’s a situation that we will have to manage day by day,” the manager continued.
Flo Clifford9 March 2025 11:10
What is the Tottenham team news?
The big question mark for Spurs is over ex-Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke, who returned from seven weeks out with a knee injury against AZ Alkmaar only to limp off with another issue. Ange Postecoglou described it was a “knock” in his pre-match conference so he could be available for the visit of his former club.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven were both on the bench and could feature this time out, while Ben Davies has returned to training but is still a doubt.
Flo Clifford9 March 2025 11:05
Good morning
Welcome to live coverage of Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth.
Spurs host Andoni Iraola’s side as they look to bounce back from their midweek Europa League defeat to AZ Alkmaar. The visitors will hope to convert their FA Cup penalty shootout success against Wolves last time out into more sterling Premier League form, following a couple of damaging defeats to Brighton and Wolves again.
We’ll have all the build-up and team news before kick-off at 2pm.
Flo Clifford9 March 2025 11:00
