Having embarked on a sensational sequence of results to move into title contention, Tottenham will be after their sixth Premier League win in a row against a Swansea City side that is still much too close to the drop zone for comfort.
An FA Cup exit at the hands of London rivals Crystal Palace has been the blot on the copybook for Spurs of late as their surging run shows no signs of stopping any time soon, brushing aside Fiorentina in the Europa League on Thursday despite starting the game without a recognised striker. Confidence is flowing through their veins, while manager Mauricio Pochettino is able to make changes to his line-up without upsetting the momentum, so things could hardly be much better for the club at present.
Victory away to Manchester City in their last Premier League match was perhaps proof to the players as much as anyone else that Tottenham have a realistic chance of finishing top of the pile at the end of the season. with Christian Eriksen continuing his resurgence in form to grab the winner. The Dane will be needed here to a unlock a Swansea defence that has proved adept in the past at soaking up pressure as the hosts can be expected to have the majority of the possession.
In his first game in charge of Swansea, Francesco Guidolin masterminded their first ever Premier League win over Everton, and here he attempts to do something similar against Spurs, with the Welsh club having lost on each of the four visits to White Hart Lane since their promotion in 2011. It is a tall order, but the Italian has sparked a recent upturn in performance levels which saw them enter the weekend three points above the bottom three.
It was a mini unbeaten run that ended last time out at home to Southampton in a game of few chances. Guidolin will be hoping that his wide players along with former Tottenham man Gylfi Sigurdsson can find a greater amount of creativity here in order to allow energetic striker Alberto Paloschi the chance to unsettle the backline. The focus will be to keep it tight in the first half and see what they can produce on the break, but an early concession may prove disastrous.
Midfield duo Mousa Dembele and Tom Carroll are both sidelined for Tottenham, who will have Harry Kane available despite a broken nose. Kevin Wimmer will continue to deputise in central defence.
Swansea have a fully-fit squad available, so could give recalls to the likes of Bafetimbi Gomis and Ki Sung-Yueng.
Last Meeting: Swansea battled right to the end in March 2015 but eventually succumbed to three superb goals from Spurs; the first of which coming on seven minutes when Nacer Chadli powerfully volleyed home a cross. Ki Sung-Yueng levelled for the visitors following a free-kick but impressive finishes from Ryan Mason and Andros Towsend saw them go 3-1 behind. Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled one back late on, and there was still time for Federico Fernandez to be denied by a stunning Hugo Lloris save.
