Some Tottenham players did not enjoy what they saw as Leicester's long-ball tactics when the Foxes won at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against Sam Allardyce's team. Big Sam is not exactly afraid to lump it, is he?

Right then, here we go. Tottenham will move four points clear of fifth-placed West Ham if they win - while Sunderland will leap from 18th to 16th, for  a few hours at least, if they take the three points.

Image source, #bbcfootball

BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson pits his wits against a different guest each week this season - and he's predicting a 2-0 home win.

Lawro's opponent for the latest round of Premier League fixtures are Creed stars Michael B Jordan & Tony Bellew.

Everton fan and professional boxer Bellew plays 'Pretty' Ricky Conlan in the film, that sees Sylvester Stallone reprise his role as the former world heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa.

Balboa is trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson - played by Jordan - the son of his former rival Apollo Creed.

Lawro's full predictions v Creed stars Jordan & Bellew

Simon Brotherton
MOTD commentator at White Hart Lane

"This game suddenly doesn't look quite so predictable as it might have done a couple of weeks ago.

"Following the midweek defeat by Leicester, Tottenham have now lost two of their last three at home in the league at a time when struggling Sunderland have come to life."

Time for a few handshakes and we will be under way very shortly. How do you see this one going?

Almost time to see if Tottenham do have a 'lotta bottle'. The players are about to emerge into the sunshine at White Hart Lane - Sunderland's rookie goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is chewing gum ferociously but does not look too nervous to me.

I would not be surprised if there were a few newspaper pages pinned up in the Tottenham dressing room today.

There are plenty of headlines screaming the likes of "Nervous Wrecks" about, after Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce questioned whether Spurs have got the bottle to win the title.

Asked whether Tottenham can win the league, Allardyce said: "I am not so sure they can hold their nerve.

"It would be nice if they did or got around there, but I think their main aim is to finish in the Champions League. If the title came about it would be one of those seasons they dream about."

Image source, Ge

Charlie Adam
Stoke City midfielder on BBC Radio 5 live's weekend preview show

"I think Sunderland will be OK. Sam Allardce will get them set up to get points. They'll pick points up. Keeping clean sheets is the key."

The bad news for Sunderland's debutant keeper Jordan Pickford is that he is playing behind the worst defeat in the top flight, that has conceded 41 goals in 21 games so far. Tottenham have the best - they have only let in 17.

It's safe to say Sunderland don't usually fare too well in these parts... they have not won at White Hart Lane since 2008, and have not beaten Spurs anywhere in 11 attempts since 2010.

Image source, #bbcfootball

There has been plenty of excitement over the number of young England players doing well in Tottenham's team, so will be interesting to see how Sunderland's own local boy gets on in goal today. Jordan Pickford has plenty of experience from loan spells in the lower leagues, and some England Under-21 caps. This is his Premier League debut though.

Image source, Reuters

It's a freezing cold and crisp winter's day at White Hart Lane, where you definitely need gloves and a hat and scarf, if you are not playing anyway - just the gloves if you are.

I can't see any fans just wearing short-sleeved shirts, which tells you that temperatures are extremely low.

Image source, Getty Images

Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce hands 21-year-old goalkeeper Jordan Pickford his Premier League debut, with Vito Mannone dropping to the bench. The Black Cats make one other change from their midweek win over Swansea, with Danny Graham - a transfer target for Blackburn - replacing Fabio Borini up front.

New striker Dame N'Doye is not yet available as he awaits a work visa after joining on loan from Trabzonspor.  

Image source, BBC Sport

Tottenham make three changes from the side that lost to Leicester on Wednesday. Danny Rose and Kieran Trippier replace full-backs Ben Davies and Kyle Walker, and Mousa Dembele comes in for Tom Carroll in midfield.

Image source, BBC Sport

Nigel Pearson
Former Leicester manager on BBC Radio 5 live's weekend preview show

Spurs striker Harry Kane scored two goals in 15 games during a loan spell with Nigel Pearson at Leicester in 2013.

"I'm very surprised at how well he's done. He hasn't half improved. He did OK with us. We had a difficult period as a team. He came into a team not performing very well.

"At that point he was a couple of years younger. Maybe it helped to toughen him up. Players won't do well everywhere they'll go. He did fine for us but didn't quite find his levels of performance. I'm pleased for him."

Image source, EPA

Mind you, Tottenham have their own in-form striker in Harry Kane, who received glowing praise from his manager Mauricio Pochettino this week.

Pochettino says defenders now look at the England striker the same way he looked at Brazil legends Ronaldo and Romario when he faced them.

"Things are not the same as before for Harry," he explained. "When I was a player  up against Ronaldo and Romario I knew I needed to be 200% ready, not 100%.

"When Harry Kane started, the opponents would say he is a youngster. Now he is a top class player. It is always a challenge for centre-backs to try to stop him, it’s a big challenge, it has changed how they see us, how they look at us."

Forget Kane vs Ronaldo or Romario, though, it is Jermain Defoe he has to outdo over the next few hours...

Afternoon all. Nearly top versus nearly bottom is never going to be as straightforward as it sounds - especially the way this Premier League season is going - but I cannot imagine there are many Tottenham fans relishing the return of Jermain Defoe today.

Defoe was a prolific marksman during two spells at Spurs, and has scored five goals in his last two Sunderland appearances. Will he bag any more today and fire his side out of the relegation zone?

Image source, Reu

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