Although the Champions League mid-week win over Olympiacos was Mourinho’s first official home game in the new stadium, Saturday’s home clash with Bournemouth will be Mourinho’s first game in charge in the Premier League since taking over the Lilywhites two weeks ago.
After back to back wins in his first games in charge (but a worrying number of goals conceded), what can we expect from the visit of the Cherries as we delve over past clashes between the two and the pairs recent results.
Head to head
Remarkably, this will only be the tenth meeting between the two in all competitions.
Of the previous nine clashes, Tottenham have won six of them with a single draw and two wins for the Cherries.
However, it is Bournemouth who won the last time the pair met back in May in the Premier League when a 90th minute Nathan Aké strike sunk the Lilywhites to close out the season with a loss.
That said, there is positive news for Spurs and one very good reason why a Tottenham victory is a likely scenario.
Four times Bournemouth have travelled to North London to take on Spurs and four times the Cherries have had to head home with nothing to show for their efforts.
Even more than that, Eddie Howes men have not even scored a goal when playing Spurs on the road with Tottenham boasting a 13-0 aggregate scoreline in those four games.
Recent Results
As mentioned above, Tottenham come into the game with back to back wins on their CV’s and a total of seven goals scored but not so great is the four goals conceded.
By contrast, Bournemouth come into the game on the back of two defeats in the league to Newcastle and Wolves respectively, although they dd score in both.
Prediction
This is the perfect game for Jose to register his first clean sheet of the season. Traditionally, Bournemouth are notorious for expansive football and getting the ball in the back of the net but lately they have struggled.
The Cherries have only managed three goals in their last five Premier League games and that will be cause for concern.
Mourinho is desperate for a shutout and he should get it.
Tottenham to win to nil is the way to go in this one.