Tottenham will head into 2025 with just one win from their last seven Premier League games after losing a late lead and settling for a 2-2 draw with Wolves in north London on Sunday.
MORE - Ange Postecoglou reaction
Wolves (17th - 16 points), on the other hand, are unbeaten in their first three games under new manager Vitor Pereira and have looked like a brand new side in recent weeks. Tottenham (24 points) sit 11th in the table to end 2024, seven points behind Manchester City in 5th.
WATCH – Tottenham v Wolves full match replay
Hwang Hee-chan opened the scoring from a bending beauty from the edge of the box in the 7th minute, but Rodrigo Bentancur equalized and Brennan Johnson put Spurs 2-1 ahead just before halftime. Minutes earlier, Son Heung-min was denied from the penalty spot. Jorgen Strand Larsen struck in the 87th minute to make it 2-2. Both sides had brilliant chances to win the game in stoppage time, but neither could find the final touch.
Has anyone considered that Postecoglou is doing a very difficult job quite well?
So much gets made of Ange Postecoglou’s tactics for obvious reasons, but his greatest challenge as the manager this season has been to keep the squad together and not lose the dressing room when things got tough. For the first time since the peak of the Pochettino days, Spurs’ squad looks and sounds like it’s one cohesive unit, no cliques and no selfish attitudes. With each passing game (not many of them wins of late), that spirit has revealed itself more and more. The squad is less than bare bones after Destiny Udogie (hamstring) became the latest defender injured, as the last remaining healthy players slowly begin to break down after playing twice a week with no rotation for the last month. “Again, like I said, we’ve been relying on a core group of players because we just haven’t had the ability to rotate, so at some point it was going to catch up with us,” Postecoglou said after the game. “Unfortunately, it caught up with Destiny.” Shorthanded and overworked as they are, they still manage to play some fantastic football for 60 or 70 minutes and tease with a glimpse of what is possible should they ever return to full strength.
Player ratings - Tottenham vs Wolves
What’s next?
- Tottenham vs Newcastle — Saturday, 7:30 am ET
- Wolves vs Nottingham Forest — Monday (Jan. 6), 3 pm ET
How to watch Tottenham vs Wolves live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Sunday (December 29)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
TV Channel: Peacock Premium
Streaming: Premier League on Peacock
Tottenham vs Wolves live updates - by Andy Edwards
Tottenham vs Wolves final score: 2-2
Goalscorers: Hwang Hee-chan (7'), Rodrigo Bentancur (12'), Brennan Johnson (45'+3), Jorgen Strand Larsen (87')
GOAL! Tottenham 2-2 Wolves: Strand Larsen fires home from a tight angle (87')
GOAL! Tottenham 2-1 Wolves: Johnson finishes after a clever one-two with Kulusevski (45'+3)
PENALTY SAVED! Son Heung-min puts it in Jose Sa’s reach just before halftime (42')
Son never looked confident before or during his run-up, and Jose Sa went the right way. An easy save in the end.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Wolves: Bentancur heads home Porro’s corner kick at the near post (12')
GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Wolves: Hwang bends a beauty from a free kick routine (7')
Tottenham starting lineup
Forster - Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Udogie - Bissouma, Bentancur, Kulusevski - Johnson, Son, Solanke
Wolves starting lineup
Sa - Doherty, Dawson, Bueno - Semedo, Andre, Gomes, Ait-Nouri - Bellegarde, Cunha, Hwang
Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs have lost four of six Premier League matches this month and sit 11th, about as far from 16th as they are from fifth. The North Londoners are dealing with a wealth of injuries and may not have a fit senior center back. Eighteen-year-old midfielder Archie Gray has been getting regular minutes in the middle of Spurs’ back line.
Wolves, meanwhile, are loving life under Pereira, winners of two-straight since the Portuguese took the reins from Gary O’Neil. Wolves’ 15 points are one above the bottom three in what’s become a congested race to avoid relegation. Pereira’s been buoyed by an outstanding pair of games from a series of strong performances from Matheus Cunha.
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
OUT: Djed Spence (suspension), Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Cristian Romero (quad), Guglielmo Vicario (fractured ankle - MORE), Richarlison (thigh), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Ben Davies (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Radu Dragusin (ankle)
Wolves team news, focus
OUT: Yerson Mosquera (knee), Boubacar Traore (knee), Pablo Sarabia (calf), Enso Medina (knee), Sasa Kalajdzic (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Mario Lemina (calf)
Tottenham vs Wolves prediction
Spurs have to stop the rot soon, and the home crowd will expect it against Wolves. Talent like Heung-min Son and James Maddison have to come good soon, and if Wolves have a soft spot it’s decidedly at the back. Expect this to be a bit tighter than anyone expected, but still a happy home crowd at the end. Spurs 2-1 Wolves.
