Tottenham Hotspur v Nottingham Forest: Premier League – live | Premier League

A game brought forward by 24 hours due to rail and underground strikes is one that could see Nottingham Forest strengthen their survival hopes. Certainly, Nuno Espírito Santo’s men should arrive in north London in confident mood after a stirring midweek victory over Fulham. Forest were 3-0 up before half-time on the back of a display brimming with intensity and quality and, in general, appear galvanised by the four-point deduction they received last month for breaching profitability and sustainability rules. That makes them potentially dangerous opponents for every team they’re going to face between now and the end of the season, and Spurs could be especially ripe for the taking given the openness with which they defend, allied to how often they fall behind at home. Their opponents on Sunday should believe they can take the lead and, unlike Palace and Luton, build on that. That will not be easy, however, against a team that scores plenty of goals, with the presence of Brennan Johnson in the home ranks adding a tantalising narrative.

David Hytner

Micky van de Ven’s father, Marcel, is well known in their native Netherlands for being one of the lead detectives on Hunted, the TV series in which the hunters (ie Marcel and his team) track down contestants who have gone on the run. Marcel got the gig for a reason. Previously, he had worked as an undercover agent for a unit based at a secret location that tackled the most notorious criminals in the country.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Johnson, Maddison, Werner, Son. Substitutes: Hojbjerg, Dragusin, Emerson, Lo Celso, Kulusevski, Bentancur, Davies, Austin, Scarlett.

Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Sels, Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Aina, Yates, Danilo, Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Wood. Substitutes: Turner, Sangare, Toffolo, Dominguez, Niakhate, Reyna, Origi, Montiel, Duarte Ribeiro.

Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)

They say the best things in life are free. The Tottenham manager, Ange Postecoglou, became exasperated in his press conference on Friday when quizzed on the pressure to qualify for the Champions League and generate that sweet Uefa cash.

“It comes down to good coaching, good decision making, good players,” Postecoglou said. “When you fall into the trap of thinking money is the answer, you don’t get the outcome.”

Notably that did not really chime with what Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, had said two days earlier: that “consistent European participation” is key for the club to invest in the squad. Levy is in talks with investors after the club recorded an £86.8m loss.

But as Postcoglou said on Friday, football clubs are not banks, and thankfully we’ve got some football to enjoy this evening. This is despite the tragic news that a man was stabbed to death close to Tottenham’s stadium in the early hours of this morning. A police investigation is under way but the match against Nottingham Forest goes ahead as planned.

Kick-off: 6pm BST