It's barely been a minute since Tottenham Hotspur prevailed in a slugfest against Brentford, but Ange Postecoglou must now ready his troops for a tough test against Everton at Goodison Park tomorrow afternoon.
With Aston Villa losing at home against Newcastle United one day earlier, Spurs have reclaimed a spot in the top four and must now focus on stringing together a run of victories to consolidate this position of power.
Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner have been added to the squad during a successful January transfer window for the Lilywhites while James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Rodrigo Bentancur have recovered from injuries to pump confidence and quality into the team.
There are absentees for tomorrow's match but Postecoglou will be largely content with his options ahead of a tough test in the Premier League.
Spurs team news
Postecoglou has hinted that Maddison will be fit to start against Everton, having been hooked prematurely on Wednesday night after an influential performance.
Heung-min Son's South Korea advanced to the quarter-finals of the Asia Cup on Friday evening – the 31-year-old on the scoresheet – so he won't be featuring against Everton, or indeed for the foreseeable.
Pape Matar Sarr, however, is available once again after Senegal were defeated on penalties and Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations, but Yves Bissouma is still competing at the tournament and Giovani Lo Celso, Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon remain on the sidelines.
Pape Sarr must start vs Everton
While Sarr played 120 minutes in Ivory Coast only on Tuesday, it's felt that the 21-year-old will be ready and raring to make an impact against Everton.
His dynamism and energy will be crucial in establishing control in the midfield battle, having posted two goals and two assists across 18 matches in the Premier League this season, completing 90% of his passes and averaging 5.1 ball recoveries per game, as per Sofascore.
Regarded as a prospect with "real potential" by Fabrizio Romano back in 2022, Sarr actually signed for Tottenham from Metz in a £15m package in 2021 and returned to the French club for the 2021/22 season, then starting just two league games for Spurs last season, impressing nonetheless.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Passing
Finishing
Ball retention
Crossing
Defensive contribution
Source: WhoScored
As per FBref, he ranks among the top 9% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 17% for pass completion, the top 18% for progressive passes and the top 10% for shots taken per 90, showcasing his technical ability and willingness to push forward and influence attacking moments.
With Bentancur partnering him in the centre, Spurs will secure the kind of fluency needed to run Everton into the ground and Sarr will be paramount to Postecoglou's side's chances of success.
Further up the pitch, Richarlison will surely keep his place at the spearhead after scoring seven goals from his past seven outings in the Premier League, while Maddison has indeed been confirmed to be fit and Dejan Kulusevski is an ever-present stalwart.
That leaves the left side of the attack, where Timo Werner has enjoyed some success across his opening two matches in the top flight for Tottenham, registering an assist in both appearances.
That said, the German international has not played all that much football this season and it might be wise to issue rotation heading into what promises to be an aggressive encounter at Goodison. As such, Brennan Johnson must return to the starting line-up after his goalscoring substitute display last time out.
Brennan Johnson could be a "nightmare" at Goodison Park
Tottenham completed the signing of Johnson from Nottingham Forest in August, the Wales international arriving in a £47.5m deal after playing a talismanic role in the Tricky Trees' successful return to the top-flight last term, scoring ten goals and supplying three assists.
He's been solid if unspectacular for the Lilywhites thus far and boasts two goals and four assists across 12 starts in the Premier League, but after restoring the lead moments after his half-time introduction, he will be pushing for a role from the outset this afternoon.
Content creator HLTCO certainly believes in the Wales international's skill set, highlighting the attributes that convinced Postecoglou and co to invest the sizeable sum in his services in the first place.
He said: "Brennan Johnson is such an exciting player to watch. He’s got frightening pace and directness; constantly looking to make something happen, it must be an absolute nightmare to defend against him."
With Son currently playing at the Asia Cup, Spurs' offensive options have been required to step up and they certainly did so against Brentford, now the onus is on producing an overpowering performance against Dyche's troops.
Werner has proved his creative worth, sure, but Johnson can match the erstwhile Chelsea forward's fleet-footedness and electricity in attack, averaging 1.2 key passes per fixture in the Premier League.
Funnily enough, it was Werner's pass that provided Johnson with the opportunity to give his side the lead earlier in the week but this merely illustrates the vibrancy of Tottenham's options, even with such an influential figure in Son out of contention.
The £70k-per-week Welshman also boasts a stunning record against the Toffees since the start of last season and must be handed a full chance to continue a Midas touch against the opposition.
Indeed, Johnson has plundered three goals and an assist from just three outings against Everton and created a whopping five key passes during Postecoglou's 2-1 triumph down at N17 just before Christmas.
He's evidently got the Merseyside outfit's number and will be a crucial cog in helping Tottenham secure back-to-back victories in the Premier League and cement that place in Champions League contention.
With Maddison fit and firing too, the fluidity and spark coursing through the visitors at Goodison will be clear for all to see and Johnson has to start to ensure a slip-up is avoided.