STAT PACK: Omens look good

Matej Vydra's 86th-minute goal at home to Hull at the weekend prevented a fifth straight defeat for the Baggies and there are plenty of positives to take from the team's 'never say die' attitude. It was Vydra's first goal for the club, and a highly important one at that.

Albion created chance after chance on Saturday, with no fewer than eight players making at least one key pass in the encounter and ten players attempting at least one shot. 

The whole team contributed in an attacking sense and that paid off, when the sustained pressure they were putting on the Tigers eventually became too much for them to handle. 

Sixty per cent possession and 14 shots to Hull's six tells the story of Albion's dominance.

Next up, Albion face a trip to north London to face an inconsistent Tottenham side, but this should not be as daunting a trip as one might initially think.

Spurs' performances have been highly unpredictable in recent weeks, so much so that manager André Villas-Boas was relieved of his duties. Since then, they have been knocked out of the Capital One Cup at the hands of a struggling West Ham side, and then won at Southampton. But it has been at home that they have had bigger problems.

Tottenham have won only three of their eight home matches this season, scoring a meagre total of just seven goals. 

What is more, two of those wins have been by a 1-0 scoreline with the goals coming from the penalty spot, as they have struggled to break down opponents.

They have won only one of their last six at home in the league - one of those aforementioned 1-0 wins - and last time out they crashed to a humbling 5-0 defeat by Liverpool. 

Albion will head to White Hart Lane hoping to upset the odds, but with a decent record there in recent years. 

The Baggies might not have won there in the Barclays Premier League, but their meetings have always been tight affairs. 

Three of the last six have been drawn, and none of the three losses have been by more than a single goal; in one of them Spurs were saved by an 89th-minute penalty from Robbie Keane. 

James Morrison scored the equaliser in this fixture last season, while back in 2011 a curled effort from outside the area from Simon Cox earned Albion a point.

There is a particularly good omen for the Baggies in this upcoming fixture: they have beaten Tottenham twice in the Barclays Premier League era, and both of those wins came in December. 

They were both, in fact, on December 28, and although this clash isn't quite on the same day, Albion seem to enjoy facing Tottenham at this time of year.

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The Baggies have not beaten Spurs since goals from Roman Bednar and Craig Beattie sealed a 2-0 win over Harry Rednapp's side at The Hawthorns in December 2008.

Jermain Defoe has scored eight goals against Albion in all competitions.     

Spurs are unbeaten in their last seven games against the Baggies (W4 D3).

Tottenham have not lost on Boxing Day since 2003 when they were defeated 2-0 at Portsmouth - with head coach, Tim Sherwood, playing for Pompey.

The two teams have met only once on Boxing Day - a 4-4 draw back in 1963 when John Kaye, Clive Clark, Micky Fudge and Don Howe were on the scoresheet.

Last time out

HOME: Barclays Premier League, Sunday, February 3, 2013, Albion 0 Tottenham 1 (Bale 67)
AWAY: Barclays Premier League, Saturday, August 25, 2012, Tottenham 1 (Assou-Ekotto 74) Albion 1 (Morrison 90)

Form guide (last six league matches)

SPURS: LDWWLW

ALBION: DLLLLD
  
Last league match line-ups

ALBION (v Hull - home D 1-1): Foster; Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell (Gera 79); Morrison, Brunt, Mulumbu; Sessegnon (Vydra 69), Long, Sinclair (Berahino HT). Subs not used: Myhill (gk), Yacob, Lugano, Amalfitano.

SPURS (v Southampton - away W 2-3): Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Chiriches, Rose; Lamela (Chadli 61), Dembele (Bentaleb 50), Eriksen, Sigurdsson; Adebayor, Soldado (Defoe 85). Subs not used: Friedel (gk); Holtby, Capoue, Fredericks.    

Spurs team news

Paulinho will miss the game due to suspension. Sandro and Andros Townsend (hamstring) and Jan Vertonghen (ankle) are out injured, while Mousa Dembele (ankle) is a doubt. 

Ref watch

Anthony Taylor referees Thursday's game. The Cheshire official last oversaw Albion in a 1-1 draw at Villa back in September 2012. Taylor has dished out 44 yellow and two red cards in 13 games this season.  

Betting

Selected odds from Sky Bet:

Spurs to win: 4/7  

Albion to win: 9/2

Draw: 14/5 

Jermain Defoe to score first: 7/2  

Shane Long to score first: 15/2

If you fancy a flutter with the club's official online betting partner, click here.

Tickets

Tickets for this fixture remain on general sale. For more information, click here.

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