TEAM NEWS: Kieran Trippier holds his
place at right wing-back for the hosts, with
no other surprises in the Spurs back line.
Eric Dier will be able to drop in between his
central defenders, with Mousa Dembele
aided by Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen in
the midfield hub. Harry Kane starts up top,
with Erik Lamela also getting a start.
Mauricio Pochettino's men are winless in
three matches, after failing to beat
Leicester on two occasions during the last
fortnight, with Everton also taking a point
from the home side. Sunderland are merely
a point from safety, with a win today
putting plenty of pressure on struggling
Swansea.

cc: lalasticlala
seun
aminat508.

Sunderland substitutes: Rodwell, Borini, Toivonen, Mannone, Fletcher, Kirchhoff, Watmore. Sunderland starting line-up (4-3-3): Pickford; Jones, Brown, O'Shea, Van Aanholt; Johnson, Cattermole, M'Vila; Graham, Defoe, Lens. Spurs substitutes: Son, Vorm, Chadli, Onomah, Wimmer, Carroll, Davies. Spurs starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Dembele; Lamela, Alli, Eriksen; Kane.

5'Spurs settle down with a neat spell of possession, with Dier dropping into a back three when the hosts have the ball. Rose and Trippier are pushing right on, but Graham and Lens are tracking their men diligently. Kane tries his luck from the edge of the box, but Pickford gets down brilliantly to his left to make a sprawling save!

9'Lamela shifts the ball infield to Dembele, with the Belgian midfielder sliding a great pass in behind Johnson for Rose to chase. Against his former employers, the Englishman manages to win a corner, which Eriksen will take. The resulting set piece causes a few problems, but ends with Alli blasting wildly over the crossbar!

15'Defoe is looking very isolated, but the ex-Spurs man could strike at any given point. The Englishman will be high on confidence after a recent hat-trick, while Spurs' front line hasn't had a purple patch for a while. Pochettino's side are dominating, but the final ball hasn't been of high enough quality.

17'Cattermole hasn't ventured over the half-way line, save for one corner, as the Black Cats continue to opt for damage limitation tactics. Eriksen is found venturing down the left-hand side, with the Denmark international curling in a dangerous cross, but Brown steps in ahead of Kane to deny the English striker.

19'Trippier is having no joy against Van Aanholt down the right-hand side, with Lamela only drifting into traffic while trying to give his wing-back time and space. Sunderland try to launch a quick attack directly from Pickford, but a lofted through ball aiming for Defoe is too heavy! Lloris picks up the scraps.

21'Spurs continue to patiently probe for a gap, but Sunderland have eight shirts on the edge of their penalty area. A diagonal ball searchs for Kane, but Jones and Pickford combine to defuse the situation for the visitors. The young goalkeeper has had an assured start to the action this afternoon.

23'Dembele gives away a scrappy foul in the centre of the park, with the Belgian shoving Johnson to the turf. The referee, however, opts to keep his cards in his pocket. The resulting free kick is lumped into the penalty box, but O'Shea is then penalised for physical jostling with Trippie

27'Spurs are banging their head against a Sunderland wall at the moment, with Pochettino's men not having any joy at all. Kane tries to wriggle free of Brown on the edge of the box, going down in the process, but the referee isn't interested in awarding a free kick.

Penalty shout for Spurs! A ball is hoisted into the Sunderland box, which Pickford comes and claims cleanly. However, Jones seems to have hold of Kane's shirt as the two jump for the ball and there are a few half-heated appeals. Referee is not impressed, so on we go.

29'Spurs' back four have got all the time in the world to hold onto the ball, with the Black Cats sticking to their obvious game plan. Kane dances past one challenge, before letting fly with his left foot, but Van Aanholt makes a great reflex block to protect his goalkeeper!

31'The opening half an hour has been very hard fought indeed, with Spurs only able to force Pickford into one save, despite the hosts besieging the visitors' penalty area. Pochettino's men are trying to draw the Black Cats out, but the away outfit always have two defensive midfielders sat in.

33'Kane heads wide! The England international rises well at the back post, with a slight deflection ensuring that his attempted header sails just beyond the far post! Sunderland try to break at pace, with Defoe looking to counter on his own, but Dembele tracks back and defuses the situation.

37'Pochettino is desperately urging his side forward, with a goal before half time of paramount importance to their hopes of three points. Trippier floats a dangerous cross in from the right-hand side, but Alli can't quite stretch enough to poke a home a back-post finish! Some chances are starting to open up for the home outf

45'+2'Alli and Rose combine down the left- hand side for the hosts, with the former MK Dons midfielder then spreading play to an overlapping Trippier. Sunderland manage to get a lot of players behind the ball again, however, before Eriksen is teed up with a chance to shoot. The hosts' goalscorer aims for the bottom-right corner, but Pickford makes another solid save! 45'There are two minutes of stoppage time. 44'Sunderland win themselves a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, but Defoe can only slide a very tame shot directly at Lloris! Spurs head up the other end and look to counter, but O'Shea makes a timely headed interception to deny Kane. 42' Christian Dannemann Eriksen 42'GOOOOOOOOOOAL! SPURS LEVEL IMMEDIATELY! Pickford makes a great save to deny Kane, with the rebound falling to Eriksen! The former Ajax midfielder shoots at an unguarded net, with Cattermole only able to knee an attempted save into the ceiling of his own net! He wants the ground to swallow him up! 40' Adam Johnson 40'Johnson slides a beautifully weighted pass in behind enemy lines, with Van Aanholt doing the rest. 40' Patrick van Aanholt 40'GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! SUNDERLAND TAKE THE LEAD! The ex-Chelsea full-back is fed in behind Trippier, before slotting a low finish through Lloris! After sitting back for a while, suddenly this game has been turned on its head.