Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action tonight as they host Everton, with Antonio Conte's side looking to put last week's disappointing FA Cup defeat to Middlesbrough behind them.
After 120 minutes, it was Championship side Middlesbrough who advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals last week, with an extra-time goal from 19-year-old Josh Coburn handing a shock 1-0 win to the Boro, topping off a 10 day period of highs and lows for Spurs.
A 4-0 win against a struggling Leeds side handed Spurs victory in their last Premier League outing, and after Man United's 4-1 loss to Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, a win for Conte's side against the Toffees could move Spurs just two points behind United with two games in hand.
Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp are both confirmed absentees for the clash against Everton, whilst Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Moura are both expected to return from injury in time for the game.
So, what line-up will Conte select? And, what could the final score be? We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction for Tottenham v Everton on Monday night and this is what happened...
Tottenham v Everton score predicted by simulation
We used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control, we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a score prediction.
We predict that Tottenham could set up in a 3-4-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Lloris; Romero, Dier; Davies; Doherty, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
We predict that Frank Lampard's side could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Pickford; Coleman, Holgate, Keane, Kenny; Doucoure, Allan, van de Beek; Gray, Richarlison, Gordon.
Both sides were slopping in the opening stages of this game, with both side's losing possession in midfield constantly with the ball rarely reaching the final third. Harry Kane had a great opportunity to open the scoring 20 minutes in with his first chance, but his shot was straight at Jordan Pickford.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg won the ball outside the box on the right and found Kane inside the box, but his first-time effort was sent straight at the 'keeper who positioned himself well to tighten the angle for Kane.
Spurs did find the opening goal not long after though, with Kane finding the net on his second attempt just before half-time.
Dejan Kulusevski skipped past his marker on the right before cutting inside, and as the ball made its way to Kane in the box, the striker swivelled his body towards goal, powering the ball past Pickford and into the net. Everton's best chance came just after the break when Donny van de Beek hit a fierce effort from long range, but it arrowed just past the post.
Kulusevski then looked certain to make it 2-0 with 10 minutes remaining, but Pickford made a fantastic save to deny the forward.
The Swedish international used his strength to squeeze past Jonjoe Kenny and breakthrough on goal, but some great reactions from Pickford saw the keeper get the slightest of touches to push Kulusevski's curling effort past the post.
Everton failed to cause any problems in the final stages of the game as Spurs held out for an important win.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Spurs 1-0 Everton
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that despite an evenly matched game between Spurs and Everton, Conte's side could emerge victorious in a narrow 1-0 victory, with Kane potentially grabbing the only goal.
What do you think the final score will be in the real game? Let us know in the comments below.
FIFA 22 is the latest game in EA's popular FIFA video game franchise, which was released worldwide on Friday, October 1, 2021. The game is available now on all platforms including Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia and PC.
