Tranmere Rovers vs Tottenham
FA Cup 2018-19
Venue: Prenton Park
Kick-off: Tonight, 7:45pm GMT
Tottenham begin their FA Cup campaign on the road to Tranmere Rovers tonight.
Spurs crashed out of the competition at the semi-final stages last season after defeat to Man Utd.
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 tonight's clash.
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.
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Gazzaniga; Walker-Peters, Sanchez, Foyth, Davies; Skipp, Sissoko; Moura, Eriksen, Son; Llorente
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: 16/1
- Tranmere to qualify, including extra time and penalties: 9/1 - Tottenham to win: 1/5
- Tottenham to qualify, including extra time and penalties: 1/25 - Draw: 13/2 (after 90mins)
First goalscorer odds
- Harry Kane: 21/10
- Fernando Llorente: 13/5
- Kaziah Sterling: 4/1
- Lucas Moura: 9/2
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet
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.
