Here’s a quick breakdown of how we’ve fared on our trips to White Hart over the years. It’s always been a very-pitched battle, even in our more-glorious years. Our record there is somewhat weaker than our road-record overall this year, having won five, drawn five, and lost three while scoring 17 and conceding 11.

Spurs are pretty rude hosts, with the second-best goals-conceded at home with 12, and this unfortunately does not dovetail well with our away-scoring–of 52 goals, only 17 have come on the road.

However, statistics do little to capture the nature of a fixture like this one. It reminds me of some of the great rivalries when, no matter how good one team is and how poor the other is, the games are fueled by such passion and history that mere numbers are washed away in the flood. Last year saw us simply thrash Spurs in a game that may have marked a turning point for both teams, inspiring us to a 3rd-place finish and dropping Spurs to 4th and out of Champions League play, and November’s clash was similarly thrilling (for us) even if it provided less momentum. It’s a shame that the last goal-fest has to come with an asterisk–having an opponent sent off inside of 20 minutes isn’t a strategy we can count on–but we will come into White Hart Lane on Sunday knowing what’s at stake and ready to seize what’s ours.  Spurs might make for poor hosts, but we don’t mind breaking a few house rules and stealing away with the fine china and silverware.