Tottenham will continue their FA Cup campaign on Saturday evening when they face Preston North End in the fourth round.
Harry Kane's second-half strike was enough to send Spurs through to this round of the competition in their last FA Cup outing, with Antonio Conte's side edging past League One Portsmouth 1-0. The Lilywhites lost two big games to Arsenal and Man City since the FA Cup win, but ahead of the clash with Preston, Spurs returned to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Fulham.
Spurs suffered a shock defeat to Championship opposition in the FA Cup last season when they lost 1-0 to Middlesbrough in the fifth round, and Conte will be hoping his side can avoid any upset this time round. Spurs' assistant manager Cristian Stellini has claimed January signing Arnaut Danjuma is available for Sunday, whilst Kane has not trained through the week due to illness.
READ MORE: Cristian Stellini makes Harry Kane fitness claim and discusses Arnaut Danjuma Tottenham plan
So, could Spurs pick up another win when they face Preston on Saturday? Let's take a look.
Preston vs Spurs score predicted by simulation
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that Preston could set up in a 3-5-2 formation, with their line-up as follows: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Browne, McCann, Ledson, Johnson, Fernandez; Evans, Cannon.
We predict that Spurs could line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Forster; Sanchez, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Bissouma, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Gil, Richarlison, Son.
Spurs started on the backfoot against Preston, with the hosts having all of the chances in the opening stages. Fraser Forster was forced into making seven saves in the first half, with the pick of the bunch falling just before the half-time whistle.
Defender Andrew Hughes surged forward to meet a loose ball on the edge of the box, and his thumping effort looked destined for the top corner, but some fantastic reactions saw Forster use his large frame to tip the strike onto the crossbar. At the break, Preston outnumbered Spurs' shots, registering 11 to Spurs' two.
It was a poor showing from Spurs who rarely threatened the hosts' goal, and Forster was forced into another handful of saves again after the restart, this time denying Ben Woodburn and Thomas Cannon from close range. But, with their first real chance of the game, Spurs took the lead in the 67th minute.
A long ball sent forward by Eric Dier saw Richarlison challenge for the pass in the air, and the Brazilian won the battle against his marker, flicking the ball towards goal for himself to chase. As he approached the goal he was quickly caught up, so the striker took aim from outside the box, firing a powerful effort across the 'keeper and into the far corner.
FIFA 23 predicted score: Preston 0-1 Spurs
Here are the full-time match stats:
FIFA 23 predicts that Spurs could struggle against Championship side Preston with a very poor performance, but the quality in front of goal proved the difference as Conte's side won 1-0. Richarlison scored Spurs' only big chance of the game whilst Fraser Forster made 13 saves in a difficult FA Cup clash.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments
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