After restoring calm to everyone with a thoroughly professional display against Burton on Tuesday evening and firmly putting the Burnley game behind us, all focus now turns to what is one of the tougher games of the season, away to Spurs. They are currently 7th in the league after a 1-1 draw with Everton and a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last week, their first win in their last 6 League matches. While they may not be flying out of the gates we know all too well the threat they carry and the quality in their squad, they won't struggle for long. Although their hangover from falling short last season and the players they had involved at the Euros does seem to have them under pressure of sorts. However they have had 7 days to prepare, having not played mid week, and Pochettino will have them ready for us. We are in the same bracket as them as Top 4 contenders, along with possibly 4 other teams, so without billing it as a "six-pointer", taking points in these games will be key for those european places.
Spurs have played a 4-2-3-1 in both games this season, with largely the same line ups, with obvious exeption of Vorm replacing Lloris in goal due to injury, and more interestingly Kane playing behind the striker against Palace, although Pochettino said Delle Alli had been ill for a few days leading up to the game. Not exactly in need of a rest I think we can expect pretty much the same 11 on Saturday, the big question being which one of Kane, Delle Alli, and Janssen will miss out? Kane has failed to impress yet this season, whereas new signing Vincent Janssen has been very impressive, changing the game when he came on against Everton and giving a man of the match performance against Palace whilst being unlucky not to net his first goal. Delle Alli is a real talent and I think he is fantastic in the role behind the striker, so it will be up to Pochettino to make the tough call. I personally see them going for:
I think Pochettino makes the big call and drops Kane, he's out of form, Janssen is playing very well and I think Delle Alli behind is more creative and dangerous than Kane, who is a very good poacher. I don't see him changing tactics altogether and switching to two up top to accommodate anyone, he has his style and I think he is a strong willed manager.
I am actually really looking forward to this one, I think it is going to very interesting to see how these two approach it. Spurs are not going to do a Burnley and sit in deep at home, they are going to want the ball and look to play against us. That should suit us, but I think Spurs are more direct than Arsenal, so whereas when they looked to play against us it was a slow methodical build up of precision passing. It allowed us time to regroup and keep the shape, they were always looking for that perfect ball to break us. Spurs have a fantastic combination of flair, speed and aggression. The addition of Wanyama to their midfield has them very solid and makes it a war zone in the middle of the park with him and Dier. Then their front three have speed and trickery to break the lines and in Kane they have clinical target man, he's not Aguero or Suarez but he is very effective! And new signing Janssen looks to add another dimension to that attack with a great engine and ability to get around the pitch. Add to that their two full backs in Walker and Rose (who I rate quite highly) are the prime example of the balance between attack and defence for full backs. And not forgetting that Vertonghen and Alderwield are no mugs either.
The most interesting thing about their first match against Everton is that, Everton really pressed and harried them, didn't give Spurs a moment and they really struggled with that in the first half. Koeman even said afterwards that if he had a 100% fit side as opposed to 70% that they would have won, and it's hard to argue with that looking that first half! If ever there was a game designed for Gegenpressing then surely this is it. Against Burnley you can't exactly press a team that doesn't want the ball, whereas here we can really hurt them if we get it right.
To turn the attention now to ourselves I think regardless of the varying results we've seen in the three matches, the team we seem to be settling on is by and large a good fit for this. Upon saying that I would have liked Can and Origi available, but I'll continue under the assumption that they're not ready for the starting line up. Three of the back five pick themselves in my opinion, Mignolet, Clyne and Lovren. The other two you could argue a case for. I think MAtip will get the nod here as I think he was always meant to be Lovrens partner and Klavan was just filling in until he was up to full fitness, but aside from that, on tuesday he showed great energy, pace and a willingness to get around, I wouldn't call it wondering as anytime he did step out of defence it felt like it was well timed and he had read the situation to say "ok, there's no danger, I can get us another 5-10 yards up here". It didn't feel like it did when Lovren used to do it early in his Liverpool career and you were always on edge, he seems to pick his moments. And after the first goal we conceded against Burnley and arguably the first we concededagainst Arsenal too, it could be a big help to have us pushing the line higher up the pitch, I don't think it's a coincidence that the men he brought in to be first choice keeper and first choice centre half both have higher starting positions on the pitch. As for LB, I think Milner gets the nod again, but only just for me, I wouldn't be surprised to see Moreno start. Spurs aren't a team that will get it wide and knock in crosses, they look to work the channels and break the line. And if we're looking to counter them then Moreno's pace is an obvious asset but I think the mid field battle will be key, and Milners ability to step inside as an extra body in there could be the key to cracking their mid field.
Our own mid field will most probably be the area of most discussion here. The three of Henderson, Wijnaldum and Lallana has failed to impress just yet. And Henderson in particular coming in for criticism, but for me he's a definite starter here, and not just because of the captain thing. We seen in this game last year the sheer amount leg work that was needed, Henderson is an engine, he will get around, he will cover the pitch and he will press relentlessly, as I said, they couldn't deal with Barkley and Barry pressing, we should be on a different level to that, and Hendersons industry is key to that. I said in the last two pre match threads that his ability to spray the ball and pick out a man is vital, but he's been sh*t at that in both games so I'm going to jib that and be a complete hypocrite. I criticised him in the Burnley post match thread for playing it too safe, and playing easy short passes, well that is exactly what he needs to do here, look to hit Milner and Clyne, get it wide, stretch them and pass into the space that open up. As for who plays with Henderson in midfield, Klopp seems determined that Lallana is playing there so that is a given for me, and he has shown some flashes of promise there. I think he was our best player for 25 mins against Burnley but unfortunately his head dropped with everyone elses after half an hour. If we get the Lallana that played against Barca in pre season he will be a huge asset, it's just about getting that consistency in this new role for him. The third man in midfield is the big question for me. I think Wijnaldum has struggled and maybe it's not going to be the role for him, we've spent enough on him so something as to give sooner or later. Like I say I am working under the assumption that Can isn't going to start here either. I found it quite strange that Grujic wasn't in the squad on Tuesday yet travelled and warmed up with that lads? The hopeless romantic in melikes to think that he has been working all week on his specific role for this match and he is going to be a surprise starter, but even I admit that is highly unlikely, and I don't see Stewart getting a start yet either. It will most likely be Wijnaldum again, but there is also a mad shout for playing Coutinho deeper, keep him away from Dier and Wanyama who will surely be looking to shut him down early, and let him dictate play from deep, however that is also a wild one from me.
I said in the Daniel Sturridge thread that I felt the only reason he played on the right against Burnley was because Mane was ruled out late on and instead of rip up the whole weeks preparation for the other 10 players he just slotted Sturridge in there to do a job. It didn't work we all accept that, I think the "I don't want to play out wide" comments from Sturridge have been blown out of proportion and with time to prepare for this one I imagine Sturridge will start up top with Mane on the right. The question then is Firmino or Coutinho on the left and the fact that Coutinho didn't feature against Burton I imagine he comes back in for this one. I think that front three will be an absolute nightmare for Spurs, I imagne Danny Rose is currently sweating at the thoughts of marking Mane, plus Clyne on the over lap and Sturridge looking to pull wide into the channels. Coutinho was frustrating against Burnley and Spurs will look to limit his space and frustrate him again, but to do that I think they'll need to double up on him, and they will likely need to do the same to Mane, which is just not feasible to do it to both and not leave themselves wide open for the likes of Sturridge.
I honestly think if we get 80% out of those front three they will be so dangerous, and if the stars align and we get the best out of each of them on the day I have no doubt that we will win comfortably. But our approach dictates how much we can get from them. Burnley showed that cutting out the supply to Coutinho and Sturridge frustrates them and takes them off their game. Spus will try that but they want the ball too, they can't do both, and at home they have to go for the win to show any ambition this season. That can play into our hands only if we're smart about it. Dier and Wanyama look very solid in midfield, if we start dropping deep looking for the ball or get too narrow cutting inside, they will clean them up all day. Keep it wide, keep it moving and get Sturridge running the channels (This match is made for Origi!) drawing men in freeing up the space for Mane and Coutinho. And I genuinely think that Lallana can be the key man, he's forgotten about as a runner in the deeper role, even Burnley lost track of him a few times. When you're trying to watch, Coutinho, Sturridge, Mane and over lapping full backs those late runs can be key, and is another reason to possibly include Grujic who looks to do that quite well in his few appearances so far.
I think it will be a very tough game, a lot of back and forth and quick breaks. If they're performance against Everton is anything to go by, our fitness will be a big factor. Another big factor I see will be the benches, whereas I said before that they have a very strong squad, their benches n their last two games have been:
Ryan Mason, Vincent Janssen, Michel Vorm, Joshua Onomah, Harry Winks, Ben Davies, Cameron Carter-Vickers
Ryan Mason, Dele Alli, Joshua Onomah, Tom Carroll, Ben Davies, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Luke McGee
Janssen was a game changer against Everton and Delle Alli has obvious threats coming into any games, but other than that I don't see a massive threat from their bench. And if we can run them down and tire them, some of these lads are going to get dropped into the deep end if they're brought on. I'd like to think we would have stronger options from our bench too, (if Can and Origi are fit they will of course go straight in);
Manninger, Klavan, Moreno, Stewart, Grujic, Firmino, Ings
I think we have the players and the ability to beat these, we need to get some consistency into our game and shore up that defence. I would take a 1-0 here and now but I think it is going to be tougher than that. I think Henderson is a make shift holding midfielder and until we have Can back that will be an issue. Combined with our recent defensive lapses and that Lovren appears to be over on the left when Matip plays I think there will be an adjustment period. And as such I think we'll struggle to keep a clean sheet. Upon saying that we have the potential for an amazing attack there and even a glimpse of what they can do will be enough to get us on the score sheet. I don't see how they contain that front three for the full 90, the main thing is we hurt them more than once. I'm going to be positive and say 2-1 to the Reds, Sturridge and Lallana with the goals.
