EVERTON’S Barclays Premier League opener at Tottenham Hotspur is scheduled to go ahead – with Tony Hibbert confident the team are ready to end their first-day blues.

Violent protests have blighted the capital for the last three days after locals began rioting following the fatal shooting of Tottenham resident Mark Duggan last week.

Tottenham High Road, the place where the initial violence erupted on Saturday night, is located less than a mile from Tottenham’s White Hart Lane home and one of the club’s ticket offices was broken in to and vandalised during the troubles.

Police are expected to monitor the situation over the next 48 hours and report back to Tottenham on whether they think Saturday’s match should go ahead.

But the Londoners are anticipating the game to proceed as scheduled, with a 3pm kick-off.

“Following the disturbances in Tottenham over the weekend, the club has been in ongoing discussions with the necessary authorities regarding this coming weekend’s Premier League fixture against Everton,” said a Tottenham statement.

“We can advise fans that at this stage the game is going ahead and the club is doing everything it can to ensure that this remains the position.

“Fans are advised to please check the website for further updates and in particular travel details as we shall look to advise fans on best available travel options.”

Everton have not won on the opening day since 2007 and triumphed only twice in nine previous attempts under Moyes.