Okay, okay, it wasn't the perfect start to the season, but Tottenham Hotspur also drew their curtain-raiser in the Premier League last year, away to Brentford, before charging toward a streak of nine victories and one draw (at the Emirates) across ten fixtures.
Then the setbacks came, stabbing down at the team like erratic lashes of lightning, and therein lies the problem that Ange Postecoglou is hoping to bed away, with some exciting signings brought in to go one step further this year.
Tottenham lost control against Leicester City after the break, wasting a catalogue of chances and paying the price upon the evergreen Jamie Vardy's strike, his ninth goal against Spurs, who failed to rally and had to make do with shared spoils.
Now, Everton await as Tottenham play host for the first time this term, and after being thrashed 3-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, an air of expectation has hung in north London.
Spurs team news vs Everton
The major sticking point heading into this afternoon's affair is undoubtedly the ankle injury that Dominic Solanke sustained in training this week, ruling him out of contention.
Solanke completed a move from Bournemouth for about £65m earlier in August after a remarkable campaign on the South Coast, and despite featuring in every top-flight fixture for the Cherries last term, he has been ruled out one game into the 2024/25 campaign.
Yves Bissouma is in contention to feature after missing the trip to Leicester due to a club-imposed ban for disciplinary reasons, though Archie Gray could start in the sitting midfield position, with Rodrigo Bentancur ruled out due to the league's concussion protocols.
Wilson Odobert is in line for a debut, while Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison will be eyeing their first starting berths of the season. Ange has a lot on his plate, though his most pressing concern will surely be determining who to stick at the front of the ship.
Who Ange could replace Solanke with
Richarlison is one of the most obvious options to replace Solanke with, for the Brazilian is fully fit and featured prominently at centre-forward last season.
He rid himself of the woes of the previous year, scoring just once over 27 games in the Premier League after transferring from Everton for some £60m in 2022, but there's still much to be desired.
Indeed, Richarlison enjoyed a brilliant purple patch last year, scoring nine goals across eight wintry matches in the top flight, but then suffered an injury-hit end to the season.
The Athletic's Charlie Eccleshare commented on how much Tottenham had "missed his physical presence" toward the end of the campaign, and that quality could be an interesting thing to throw into the mix against his former outfit, having bagged twice against them in an emphatic display last year.
However, Richarlison's cameo last weekend proved that he has much to do before he is polished and effective to the degree that Postecoglou demands to provide him with regular appearances from the opening whistle, introduced before eight crucial minutes of injury time and missing a glorious chance to get his side off to a winning start.
Minutes played
8'
Touches
7
Shots taken
1
Big chances missed
1
Accurate passes
3/5 (60%)
Key passes
0
Duels won
0
Despite only being on the field for a few moments, he produced a wayward header, unmarked, after a wonderful free-kick from Lucas Bergvall.
Starting Richarlison simply might not be the answer this time, not when Heung-min Son is ready to continue his emphatic form as Tottenham's central striker.
Why Heung-min Son must return to no. 9
Skipper Son featured in his natural left-flanking role against Leicester, but he was outfoxed by a dogged defence, unleashing just the one blocked shot and creating one key pass for his teammates, fading after a delightful whipped delivery for the sidelined Solanke early on.
Look, Son's brilliant, and any notion that his ship has sailed must be laughed out of the room. Last term, he bagged 17 goals and ten assists in the Premier League, alternating between the left and a centre-forward deployment, and indeed his "world-class" quality, as praised by Postecoglou, and leadership presence emphasise the importance of playing him.
After all, he's hardly one dimensional, able to mix his goalscoring his elite-level creativity, and ranks among the top 7% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year and the top 10% for shot-creating actions per 90 anyway, as per FBref.
He also created 17 big chances in the division last year, with Dejan Kulusevski the next-most creative Lilywhite on that list with 14 big chances created.
He might not have clicked right into gear straight away but the South Korea international will be desperate to influence proceedings today and might find that he can make the best impact in front of a dynamic supporting cast.
James Maddison claimed an assist against Leicester and will hope to recapture that imperious pre-injury form from last year. The Englishman's vision and defence-splitting ballwork is something that no other player in the squad can replicate to the same degree.
1.
Mohamed Salah
264
158 (0.60)
2.
Jamie Vardy
308
137 (0.44)
3.
Raheem Sterling
379
123 (0.32)
4.
Heung-min Son
304
120 (0.39)
5.
Callum Wilson
221
88 (0.40)
Moreover, Kulusevski could make a difference if provided with a starting role, bringing the energy and intensity to effectively supplement Son, pushing forward and stretching the lines.
All told, there's nothing to worry about regarding Solanke's injury, with the 27-year-old expected back shortly and Postecoglou not exactly starved of alternative ways to piece his team together.
But starting Richarlison would be a mistake, for Son must return to the spearhead.
Scouts sent: Spurs target £15kp/w "engine" who has shades of Mousa Dembele
The special youngster has a very bright future.
1 ByJack Salveson HolmesAug 24, 2024
