Tottenham Hotspur missed too many chances against West Ham United and they cannot afford to do the same this weekend

When Everton visit Wembley on Saturday it will be Tottenham Hotspur’s third home game in a row and Mauricio Pochettino will know the importance of picking up all three points.

Spurs take on the Toffees under the arch looking to make it back-to-back victories at the national stadium after defeating AFC Wimbledon 3-0 last Sunday in the third round of the FA Cup.

A few days before that win, the Lilywhites needed an 84th-minute equaliser from Heung-min Son to rescue a 1-1 draw at home to rivals West Ham United.

The two points dropped against the Hammers was frustrating, but Spurs can reflect on a somewhat satisfactory start to 2018 now they have reached the next stage of the FA Cup.

For the time being the focus shifts back to the battle for the top-four and this weekend sees more key fixtures occur.

Spurs will kick-off at home to Everton at 5.30pm on Saturday and will know how third-placed Chelsea have got on at home to Leicester City at Stamford Bridge.

More importantly, Tottenham will have the chance to put some pressure on fourth in the table Liverpool and Arsenal, who are sixth in the standings.

Both clubs play on Sunday with the Gunners travelling to AFC Bournemouth for a 1.30pm start while the Reds host runaway leaders Manchester City at 4pm.

Spurs will hope to move level on points with Liverpool and go five ahead of Arsenal by the time they have finished with Everton, but Saturday’s game at Wembley won’t be easy.

Sam Allardyce has made the Blues a tough nut to crack since taking over on November 30 and guided them away from the bottom three and into the top-10.

Wins over Huddersfield Town, Apollon Limassol, Newcastle United and Swansea City were achieved towards the end of 2017, although Everton have not won now since December 18.

Nevertheless, Allardyce did manage to hold Chelsea to a 0-0 draw before Christmas and has seen his team push Manchester United (2-0) and Liverpool (2-1) close this month in the league and FA Cup respectively.

Therefore despite Tottenham’s strong record over Everton in recent years, Saturday’s game will not be easy and Spurs need their big guns to be on form.

Pochettino’s side missed too many chances against West Ham and they cannot afford to do the same this weekend if they want to get back into the top-four soon.