Tottenham will face a severely weakened Watford side this weekend as they look to consolidate their lead over the chasing pack and stay within seven points of Chelsea.
After their stunning comeback in midweek against Swansea City, Spurs will be buoyed by the fact that they were able to secure all three points despite their current injury concerns.
However, it looks as though their upcoming opponents are in bad shape ahead of Saturday, with three key players set to miss out.
Younes Kaboul is likely to sit out the reunion with his former club due to a hamstring injury, while Sebastian Prodl is still recovering from a rib injury.
Meanwhile, Miguel Britos is suspended, and so Walter Mazzarri has a real headache on his hands when it comes to selecting his defence, with Christian Kabasele set to return but only after two months out due to a hip problem.
There are more problems further up the field too, as the Evening Standard note that Troy Deeney, Tom Cleverley and Abdoulaye Doucoure are all “very fatigued”, according to the Watford boss, while Etienne Capoue, Valon Behrami and Heurelho Gomes are all listed as doubtful.
And if that still wasn’t enough, Roberto Pereyra, Mauro Zarate and Ben Watson are all long-term absentees and will remain sidelined.
Despite their injury troubles, Watford remain in 10th place in the Premier League standings. However, coming up against an in-form Tottenham at White Hart Lane is not what they would have wanted to see given their current situation, with Spurs showing that they have quality and depth to cope without the likes of Harry Kane.
While it will also be important for Mauricio Pochettino’s men to build that gap between themselves and third place, they will also hope to continue to push Chelsea for as long as possible between now and the end of the season.