Sunderland host Tottenham in the Premier League on Tuesday, 31 January, as Spurs look to keep pace with leaders Chelsea, who travel to Liverpool on the same day.

Where to Watch

Kick-off is set for 7.45pm GMT. Highlights of the game will be on BBC MOTD on BBC One from 10.45pm GMT.

Overview

Sunderland are currently bottom of the table, having won just once in their last eight games, putting massive pressure on David Moyes in what is likely to be a month of reckoning for the former Manchester United manager. However, despite their current form, they are only three points clear of safety and an unlikely win against the high flying boys of north London should see them safe going into the next month.

Moyes will be without Papy Djilobodji for the game after the defender was handed a four-match ban after being found guilty of an FA violent conduct charge following a clash with West Brom's Darren Fletcher. However, new signing Joleon Lescott could be in the squad while defender Lamine Kone and midfielder Didier Ndong are both available after returning from the African Nations Cup.

Meanwhile, Tottenham had a narrow escape against League Two side Wycombe Wanderers, scoring in the final minute of extra time to go through to the fifth round. The minnows gave a very good account of themselves, going 2-0 up in the first half, only for Tottenham to draw level. Wycombe took the lead again in the dying minutes but a goal by Dele Alli and Heung Min Son meant that the visitors' hopes of taking the tie to a replay were crashed.

Harry Kane is likely to return to the side while Toby Alderweireld is expected to be back after being taken off against Manchester City with a tight hamstring. However, Jan Vertonghen and Erik Lamela are out injured and will not be involved in the tie.

Tottenham
Tottenham came from behind to beat Wycombe but Pochettino was not convinced by some performances Getty

What Managers Say

David Moyes on transfers: "It's going well. Hopefully in the next hour or two we'll be able to confirm. Not done yet. I very rarely talk about players from other clubs until the time is right. We'd like to get ourselves a left-back. We made our position clear before January, but we are trying to add one or two." (via IBTimes)

Mauricio Pochettino: "We have a few players with some risk of getting injured and you need to rest because you cannot compete on Tuesday at Sunderland and then on Saturday against Middlesbrough. We need the fans need to understand that we cannot always play the same team — the same 11 players — because they are not machines, they are human. We will see [about the Europa League]. It's not clear. The first half [against Wycombe] was very difficult and we need to assess why and to analyse. If you play against Wycombe — a League Two club — it is true that is difficult because of their motivation and their excitement is massive, but I think we need to stop a little bit and say, 'why not play one or another'? When you play Tottenham, you play Tottenham, and when you sign a player for your squad you need to be available to play, and be of enough quality to play in this type of game." (via Sky Sports)

Betting Odds (betfair)

  • Sunderland win: 2/5
  • Draw: 4
  • Tottenham win: 8

Team News

Sunderland

Possible XI: Mannone, Denayer, O'Shea, Love, Jones, Manquillo, Larsson, Rodwell, Januzaj, Honeyman, Defoe

Tottenham

Possible XI: Lloris; Carter-Vickers, Dier, Alderweireld, Walker, Wanyama, Dembele, Rose, Eriksen, Alli, Kane

Sunderland AFC Tottenham Hotspur FC Premier League