Tottenham vs Sunderland: Stats preview

Tottenham’s Andre Villas-Boas will have to win their match against Sunderland at home and hope that Arsenal slip up at St. James Park to have a chance to play in the Champions League.

The Black Cats have Arsenal to thank for the Gunners’ efforts in ensuring Wigan’s relegation. They can play with freedom, but manager Paolo di Canio has threatened to cut short their summer break if their performance is below par.

Both teams are stable when it comes to their last five performances; but of the two, Spurs have the better run-in having won three and drawn two. Sunderland have two wins, two draws and one loss, a 6-1 thumping in the hands of Aston Villa.

Against each other, Tottenham have won three of their last five while the other two have ended with points being shared.

Sunderland are the team who have scored the least number of goals in the first and last fifteen minutes of the game.

Stephen Fletcher has scored 11 goals this season, the highest for his club, whereas Bale has netted 20 goals, one short of the all-time Tottenham record of Teddy Sheringham, who scored 21 in the 1993-1994 season.

Sunderland are 17th in the table and are safe from relegation, whereas Tottenham are 5th in the table and are still chasing that last coveted Champions League spot. If Tottenham win this game, they will surpass their highest point tally of a season with 72 points. Their previous high was 70 in 2009-2010.