Tranmere Rovers vs Tottenham
FA Cup 2018-19
Venue: Prenton Park
Date: Friday 4 January 2019
Kick-off: 7:45pm GMT
Tottenham begin their FA Cup campaign on the road to Tranmere Rovers on Friday night.
Spurs crashed out of the competition at the semi-final stages last season after defeat to Manchester United.
Mauricio Pochettino will be out to bring silverware to the club to any silence any remaining doubters.
Team news
Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen have returned to training after their respective injuries but are not in contention for tomorrow night.
Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama are also unavailable along with Erik Lamela, who has recovered from a calf problem but is now ruled out through illness.
Academy products Kyle Walker-Peters, 21, and Oliver Skipp, 18, are set to start and youngsters Timothy Eyoma, Troy Parrott and George Marsh are likely to be in the squad.
Tottenham’s heavy fixture schedule — they played four games between December 23 and January 1 — and forthcoming Carabao Cup semi-final double-header against Chelsea mean Pochettino is set to rotate.
Meanwhile, out-of-favour forward Vincent Janssen — who has not played for Spurs since August 2017 — could play against Liverpool Under-23s on Monday.
The Dutchman is not part of Pochettino’s plans may be sold this month.
Score prediction: Tranmere 0-3 Tottenham
Pochettino will no doubt be tempted to rest the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Toby Alderweireld after the busy festive period.
But the Argentine has managed his squad carefully in recent weeks with nothing less than a comfortable result against a side 74 places below them in the English football league system expected.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Tranmere to win: 14/1
- Tottenham to win: 1/5
- Draw: 6/1
First goal scorer odds
- Fernando Llorente: 13/5
- Kaziah Sterling: 4/1
- Lucas Moura: 9/2
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Tranmere vs Tottenham tickets
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TV channel and live stream online coverage
The match will be televised live on BT Sport 2, with coverage starting from 7.30pm.
BT Sport subscribers will be able to stream the match online via the video player and the BT Sport app.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
The two sides have met on eight occasions in the past with Spurs winning six of those. The hosts are still without a victory.
