With manager Jose Mourinho making plenty of changes (and plenty of substitutions) for Tottenham Hotspur’s less than comfortable victory over Wycombe Wanderers in the midweek FA Cup clash, Thursday evening sees us take on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side.
With both sides having a wobble following our previous meeting, our recent form is better than the reigning title holders and given we have a game in hand on them, we could overtake them and snatch fourth place ourselves with victory.
But that brings us to the obvious question – which Spurs side will turn up for this game and being forced to bring on the likes of Harry Kane on Monday evening, will freshness and fitness come into play with how tight our fixture list has been this season?
It’ll be a tricky game and it’ll no doubt get a bit tasty between Kloop and Mourinho on the touchline, but with decent progress being made in our search for a trip to Wembley and some Cup silverware, this is the ideal game to make a statement about our ongoing Premier League hopes as well.
We’ll have to see if Dele Alli, Ben Davies or Matt Doherty are passed fit for this one, but unless I’ve missed something, there shouldn’t be any other selection concerns.
Naturally, the stronger we can go, the better our chances…
Liverpool
Win
Draw
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It is what it is…
We could also win the Quadruple! 😉
On another note… I didn’t comment on it before on here when people were saying how much City might miss De Bruyne. But, I remembered the last time he spent a couple of lengthy spells out for City and only played in about half of their PL matches… They won the PL, FA cup and Carabao cup treble that season! …………..
It was Pep that made a cheeky comment about Spurs being the Harry Kane team. Insinuating that without him we are nothing…. It’s not so. And it’s not so that City are a one man team by any means. Likewise with Pool and having VVD missing for so long or even the Foxes with Vardy out.
Even so, I think Spurs will need Harry fit for the entire season, if we are to win the quadruple! 😉
There are plenty of ways to win a football game, but I don’t think attacking Liverpool at will is either smart or effective. Plenty have tried, and mostly have failed.
We know how much pace they have and how much damage they can inflict on the counter. Playing into their hand is the last thing we should do. There are plenty of games where having an attacking game plan makes sense. This probably isn’t one of them.
That’s not to say that we have to sit back and invite pressure all game, but I don’t think throwing the kitchen sink at them is wise. This is a game where we should try to win the midfield battle, keep the ball away from their playmakers and be patient.
We know that without Van Dijk, they are susceptible to mistakes at the back. We just have to take our chances when they fall to us.
At Anfield, we had more than enough chances to win the game, but we failed to convert them. I have a feeling we’ll have some good chances tomorrow, but it is all down to whether we can take them when they fall to us.
Liverpool seemed to want to stop Kane and Son at Anfield, even if that left opportunities for the likes of Bergwijn. Let’s hope that if they do that again, Steven (or whoever is playing in that front 3 tomorrow) can make them count.
I agree HT. Any team in the world would miss KDB, but when you have a squad full of world class midfielders, that softens the blow somewhat…
Leicester without Vardy on the other hand, is a much bigger blow, as the drop off to his replacement is much bigger.
Bringing in Foden for KDB isn’t a bad option!
We played well when we used a basic 343 formation which became 532/541 when out of possession, I think this could work well again up against Liverpools front 3.
BS …. With Son, Begwyn, Lamela, Lucas, and our loanee from RM we have a pretty fast attack on the break ourselves. It all depends on how, or if, JM wants to use them. Personally I think we should start the game as if we are a goal down with 10 minutes left.
I think the Foxes have made a shrewd move with Vardy. Because they have known for a while that he needs an operation, but rather than risk him being too unfit, fading or out at some point later in the season., they have hedged their bets on having him out for now but hopefully in better condition when he returns than he might have been without the op.
Even so, I think they are still a strong team and can cope reasonably well without him for now. They do spread their goals around the team much more than say Spurs, or some other clubs do…
Geof – As we saw at Anfield, there is a difference between having fast players who can create chances for themselves, and having fast players who actually take those chances. Bergwijn created plenty of chances, yet didn’t take any.
On the other hand, Liverpool’s front 3 have proven, time and again, that they are all capable of scoring in the PL.
Looking at our team, Kane and Son are as reliable as anyone in the game, but between Lamela, Lucas, and Bergwijn, none of those players has a track record of scoring regularly for us. Can those players really be trusted to score?
Bale is the dark horse and certainly has the ability, but given that he played all 90 minutes on Monday and is only just coming back from injury, I’m not expecting a huge shift from him tomorrow.
If you’re going to attack an opponent, you have to be 100% certain that you are going to outscore them. I think it’s reasonable to question whether we can go toe to toe, attacking wise, with a team like Liverpool.
If we sit back, eventually liVARpool will score giving their attack, and we have no confidence in keeping clean sheet. Sorry for the spoiler alert
We are more than capable of taking the game to Liverpool. Especially with the players that Jose has available for tomorrow and will be starting.
I’ve already stated that I think it will be a tough encounter tomorrow. But I think we’ll be making it tougher on ourselves if we just sit back and hope to hit them on the break.
We can defend stoutly but still play on the front foot. We have the 11 and more players to do this and be positive in this game. So, why give our defence all the more reason to work much harder than they would need to without sitting deep and just countering when we can… For one, it might just take them and Klopp by surprise if we do pay on the front foot and in a positive and attack-minded fashion…. We are not Sheffield United after all. And they are pretty vulnerable at the back right now…
They have the PL’s top scorer. But just with 1 goal less than Salah on 13, are Kane and Son right behind him on 12 each… Pools next highest scorer is Mane on 6. That would suggest to me that we potentially have the more potent attack….. But only if we actually dare to attack!
Hi all
Moving from the thread I have found the Harry / Whitehouse sketches of Jose entitled Jose Arrogantio on U Tube .
Not sure if anyone interested or have seen them before but made me chuckle all the way from Bournemouth Pier to home on my bike .
Totally agree HT
At Anfield for the first 10 mins or so of the 2nd half we put them under pressure but then reverted to defensive tactics and lost the game by them scoring a ‘lucky ‘ goal .
Apart from 30 mins or so against Wycombe most of the 1st team have had a really long rest between games so ought to be fresh and up for this one ?
Tomorrow night is our next “Big One” game, everybody has so different ways we will play, or cope.
For me it will/is going to be a combination of all different ways, defend stoutly, do not invite pressure, win the midfield battle which we are quite capable of doing, attack fast, but more importantly keep the bleedin ball, if we have it they do not, simple.
Some go on about the fear of their front 3 we should have, umm! but do not forget our front 3 will/is justifying as much fear for them, as HT pointed out HK/Son = 24 goals, Salah/Mane = 19 goals.
So Come On You Bleedin Spurs, lets make a statement of intent for the 2nd half of the season. COYS
Now then lads n lassie, its 20/21 season, half way point, question….
How do you think we are doing?
Could the answers be?….
Not bad, considering.
Its just the start, we will get even better.
Pretty good, but will do better.
Very good, way above what I expected.
Edge of seat, teeth gnashing stuff.
I know there will be many more answers, but those 5 are just for basics sake. COYS
Some wise words there Jod,
TQ in full agreement, surely there has to be a fairer way to play these games, considering we now have a backlog. Never mind recovery time nearly all of the teams overall Havnt played as many matches as us this season, suppose its the price to pay for success. 😉
What success Niall?…….We haven’t won anything yet! :- )
lol Good point, TQ.
We’re oalso still in the running for evey competition we’ve entered this year, including a final. Difficult to contend we’re doing badly…
Jose had KDB and sold him on
Nice one The Blades! All of the results have gone our way tonight.
TQ
Get your point but don’t forget some think we were successful under Poch and we won fek all.
All depends on our view point I suppose.
I look at our previous seasons since around 2017 and guess what we’re are doing better points wise than the last 4 years the best we had was 2017 on 39 points after 23 games we should surpass this this season, so yeah, if not a success certainly an improvement considering we are in the mix for the League Cup.
With tonight’s results we (yet again) have a chance to get in and around the top 3.
COYS.
Just saying …. I think Chelsea will take the title this season. You all know from my match predictions that I am rarely wrong! Chelsea have no weak links, are a team of world class players … and play as a complete team. They also play the most entertaining football (consistently) that I’ve seen for a couple of years …. across all leagues. TQ knows what I mean. Gotta love football. : – )
I certainly do Geof and concur with your prediction but I’m also pleased with the changes that are being made at Spurs in terms of management and the bringing in of experienced quality players such as Kennedy and McManus.
TQ …. I can’t believe how good the WSL is becoming. I agree that Spurs look like a team on the rise which is brilliant. They still have a way to go but they are certainly going in the right direction. Mind you, the next game will be tough for them!