Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League 2016/17: Where to watch, preview, betting odds and possible XI

Tottenham Hotspur travel to Goodison Park to face Everton in their opening game on 13 August.

Everton welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Goodison Park for their opening game of the Premier League season on 13 August (Saturday).

Where to Watch

Kick-off is set for 3pm BST. Live radio commentary of the game is available on BBC Radio, BBC Radio 5 Live. Catch the highlights on Match of the Day on BBC One and BBC One HD at 10.30pm BST.

Overview

The start of a 2016/17 Premier league season is upon us. And, on Saturday, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, two teams who were considered equals not so long ago, will face each other.

Since then though, Everton have dipped alarmingly finishing in 11<sup>th place last season which saw them sack manager Roberto Martinez and poach Dutchman Ronald Koeman from Southampton in his place. Koeman has inherited a squad which is talented and capable of more than they have shown in the previous two seasons.

In Ross Barkley, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Romelu Lukaku they have players who are devastating on their day. However, with Lukaku eyeing for a move away from Goodison Park, they might just be light on options up front.

Everton have brought in defender Ashley Williams from Swansea to beef up their weak link which is defense, while they are also in talks to sign Crystal Palace's Yannick Bolasie.

The departure of defender John Stones to Manchester City was unfortunate but with the money got from the deal they will look to sign a forward and a midfielder to add bite and steel to their squad.

harry kane and dele alli — Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Dele Alli had a poor Euro 2016 campaign for England Getty

Tottenham Hotspur on the other hand have been on the rise, finishing third in the Premier League last season and would have been disappointed not to end up higher. At one point, they were in contention to win the league only for Leicester to run away with the crown.

Spurs are all stability at the moment, something which has not been seen at the club for a long time. The credit must go to manager Mauricio Pochettino who has ensured that the players are focused and have bought into his philosophy.

The north London club have not been very active in the transfer window, but have made important additions to the side in the form of defender Victor Wanyama and striker Vincent Janssen. With a majority of the squad still young, Pochettino will know that there will be phases where they will be frustrating, but will learn with time.

Midfielder Mousa Dembele will miss the game due to the six-game ban he received at the end of last season.

What Managers Say

Ronald Koeman: "We are, in terms of physical state, 70% of what we need to be. We are working hard and we will improve.

"I doubt that means we will start to play at 70%. But if I compare the numbers of the physical states of the players, it is 70% and at Southampton (Koeman's former club) it was 100%.

Mauricio Pochettino [On side's frustrating end to last season]: "I just told them, if I have the opportunity to kill you then I kill everyone. I wanted to kill all of them."

"What did they do wrong? A lot of things. Football is tactical, physical, technical, but it is also mental. More mental than many years ago. We need to know how to improve our mental state. I think this was key in the last few games in last season. To move on the team, to achieve another level, it is here that we need to improve."