As far as Premier League history goes, Spurs definitely have the advantage over Sunderland, having won ten of their 16 Premiership encounters with two draws. The North London club also have the edge over Steve Bruce, winning six of the twelve matches where Bruce has been in the opposing dugout.
The two teams never seem short of goals with 49 at an average of over three per game. That average was boosted by Tottenham’s 4-0 destruction of Sunderland back in 1996 at the Stadium of Light, with Steffen Iversen scoring his only hat trick in seven seasons at the Lane, and a 4-1 in 2003 victory courtesy of goals from Gus Poyet, Gary Doherty, Simon Davies and Teddy Sheringham’s 300th domestic goal.
Keane seems to have been a thorn in the side of the Black Cats, the Spurs captain notching four in his last five games against them. Kieran Richardson is the most prolific of the current Sunderland team against the Lilywhites, scoring in his last two starts.
However, the main talking point will no doubt be the return to White Hart Lane of Darren Bent. The man who cost Tottenham £16.5m two years ago is riding high in the scorers charts with 8 in 11 games. That is a marked difference from his time in the white shirt where he only scored 24 goals in 74 games at a ratio of a goal every three and a bit games (Seven-and-a-half minutes if you want to be precise!)
One thing I would recommend to any fans going to White Hart Lane is stay to the end. In each of the last five games there have been goals in the final ten minutes including Robbie Keane’s dramatic equaliser at the Stadium of Light last season.
By Jamie Frier
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