Tottenham Hotspur v Swansea City: The big talking points

2nd December

Swansea City will look to build on their extraordinary win over Crystal Palace when they take on Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.
The Swans head to London in buoyant mood after banking their first home victory of the campaign in remarkable fashion.
But history suggests that nothing will come easy on Tottenham's patch.
Here we look at the big talking points heading into the game.



White Hart pain
There are 10 clubs who have been in the Premier League alongside the Swans ever since Brendan Rodgers's team were promoted to the top flight back in 2011.
During that period, the Swans have got results on the grounds of all but two of them - Manchester City and this weekend's opponents, Spurs. 
In five previous Premier League visits, the Swans have lost 2-1, 3-2, 1-0 (twice) and 3-1. For Bob Bradley, earning just a point tomorrow would be a step forward.



Leroy's leading
Leroy Fer leads the goalscoring chart at the Liberty Stadium after his double against Crystal Palace last weekend took him to six strikes for the season, one more than Gylfi Sigurdsson.
No midfielder in the Premier League has scored more goals than Fer so far this term.
In fact, only seven players have netted more than him in the top flight in 2016-17 - Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa (both 10 goals), Alexis Sanchez (eight), Jermain Defoe, Eden Hazard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romel Lukaku (all seven).
   


Christmas catch-up
There will be a number of players lining up against former clubs this weekend, with ex-Spurs man Sigurdsson looking to score for the third time in Swans colours at White Hart Lane.
"After he moved to Swansea, we saw him develop," Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged this week. 
Wayne Routledge and Kyle Naughton are also set to feature on the ground they once called home, while Michel Vorm will be in the Spurs squad.
Ben Davies, however, is expected to miss the game with an ankle problem.


  
Paul and Poch
There will be a reunion in the dugout, too, as new Swans No. 2 Paul Williams comes face to face with Pochettino, who was the manager when he was on the academy staff at Southampton.
"I was fortunate at Southampton watching Mauricio Pochettino at Southampton," Williams says. 
"The way he likes his teams to play is kind of in line with my thoughts on how you should go about things and the way football should be played.
"It also fits in with Swansea's style and what this club has done over the last few years."



Not-so-hot Spurs?
Tottenham looked for a long time like they might win the title last season - they eventually finished third - and they will be expected to compete for Champions League qualification, at the very least, once more this term.
They have shown flashes of their undoubted class so far in this campaign - in the 2-0 win over Manchester City in October, for example.
However, their form heading into this weekend is one win in 10 games in all competitions. Admittedly, they have faced some classy opponents during that run, but Spurs may not be firing on all cylinders right now.