Tottenham Hotspur 2 Chelsea 0

[xceleryx]

4 minutes ago, Thiago97 said:

Yeah I’m general agree. RLC will get game time right now due to being the best fit with  Enzo. I just feel we will dominate possession here and spurs have their own injury problems in centre midfield. For this game, my thinking was I we look for Enzo to play a Jorginho deep possession game, and allow the legs around him to be the ones to break forward. It’s certainly not ideal, but I see midfield breaks from Mount, Gallagher as being our key route to success in this game. 
Mount in form does not really deserve to be starting. He does have a habit of playing  well against spurs though, so for that reason and because he can play a hybrid 8 & 10 role and does carry out instructions well, I would start him on Sunday and see if it can produce a performance from him. 

The thing here is that we know how Conte is going to play, it'll be on the counter and looking to transition quickly. Us having possession plays into their game plan really. This would be why I'd be very cautious about over committing in the midfield with runners, because leaving Enzo isolated is going to render him vulnerable like Jorginho would've been. Hence why I'd stick with being a bit more on the cautious side early on, with the ability to change it later. 

I'd still not play Mount regardless, his impact on games at this point in time is virtually moot. Everyone going to have their opinion on him right now though, so I can understand why some would want to continue to have him in the side. 

[Mark Kelly]

27 minutes ago, Thiago97 said:

Yeah I’m general agree. RLC will get game time right now due to being the best fit with  Enzo. I just feel we will dominate possession here and spurs have their own injury problems in centre midfield. For this game, my thinking was I we look for Enzo to play a Jorginho deep possession game, and allow the legs around him to be the ones to break forward. It’s certainly not ideal, but I see midfield breaks from Mount, Gallagher as being our key route to success in this game. 
Mount in form does not really deserve to be starting. He does have a habit of playing  well against spurs though, so for that reason and because he can play a hybrid 8 & 10 role and does carry out instructions well, I would start him on Sunday and see if it can produce a performance from him. 

Don't forget anyone who is in that "sitting" position is also going to have to mark Harry Kane as he likes to sit in that pocket these days 

[Ham]

Zakaria hasn't been mentioned in anyone's line up and he's back again.  

Might be worth a shout alongside Enzo.  

[asvaberg]

10 minutes ago, Ham said:

Zakaria hasn't been mentioned in anyone's line up and he's back again.  

Might be worth a shout alongside Enzo.  

If Gallagher doesn't play well, he will be switched for Zakaria 🙂

[east lower]

Should be a strong emphasis on attacking via the wide areas, their fullbacks are defensively suspect. Go through the middle and they’ll rotationally kick us into submission-plus we’ll not get any protection from the referee.

Plenty of defensive cover at our own corners and attacking set pieces. A managerial masterpiece such as JM’s decision in the LC Final to play Zouma as a central midfielder to cover the space Kane falls into is required - pity that we don’t have the managerial master to think of that one. 
 

Hope that he plays both Chilwell and James and let’s at least one of them at a time do their stuff in the opposition’s last third.

Expecting a loss, wishing for better.

[Trini_Blue]

I have to say I can't wait for this game.

We know Conte is going to try to tear us apart on the counter. We absolutely know that's how Conte is going to try to get to us.

The question IMO is if we add a third body in midfield to pick up Kane when he drops deep. 

I feel like RLC and Enzo coped very well against Dortmund so I wouldn't mind that pairing one bit instead of a 3 in midfield.

Mudryk would have been ideal for this game but he's got to get match sharpness and I'm not sure how long that's going to take. 

Saw lots of videos of him on Twitter of him doing deadlifts. I wonder if that's something the club is emphasizing with him in terms of core strength because he's been a bit easy to bump off the ball/fall over IMO. 

[Trini_Blue]

16 hours ago, east lower said:

A managerial masterpiece such as JM’s decision in the LC Final to play Zouma as a central midfielder to cover the space Kane falls into is required - pity that we don’t have the managerial master to think of that one. 

Probably Kova can play that role. Kane isn't the same player he was when Mourinho was here IMO. He's still scoring of course but I don't feel like Conte has gotten the best out of him.  

Still, they're dangerous. But the Kane who ripped us apart at WHL under Mourinho in 2014 he's not been that good in a while IMO.

[Mark Kelly]

5 hours ago, Trini_Blue said:

I have to say I can't wait for this game.

We know Conte is going to try to tear us apart on the counter. We absolutely know that's how Conte is going to try to get to us.

The question IMO is if we add a third body in midfield to pick up Kane when he drops deep. 

 

The question is whether Potter knows "Conte is going to try to tear us apart on the counter".

Seeing as he didn't apparently know we're nothing without Reece James when resting him against Southampton the jury is very much out on whether he does.

[Rob B]

I’d be inclined to match them up like for like in a 3-4-3:

                       Kepa

      Fofana.     Silva.    Badiashille

James.       RLC.     Enzo.       Chilwell 

      Sterling.   Havertz.    Felix 

 

Firstly, our best performances under Potter (pre-world cup) have been this formation and arguably he knows it best from his Brighton days.

It allows us to get James and Chilwell forward without being too committed and vulnerable on the counter, and my instructions to the attack would be to make it super fluid.  All inter-changing and pulling their defenders all over the place. 

It gets Fofana in the team who I thought looked good in his cameo at Southampton, and quite frankly, Mudryk, Madueke, Ziyech and Mount haven’t really done enough to warrant starting.

My expectations are pretty much rock bottom so any points at all will be a pleasant surprise. 

[Ham]

1 hour ago, Mark Kelly said:

The question is whether Potter knows "Conte is going to try to tear us apart on the counter".

Seeing as he didn't apparently know we're nothing without Reece James when resting him against Southampton the jury is very much out on whether he does.

To be fair, he probably, like the rest of us, thought the 11 he put out were good enough to beat rock bottom Southampton.

[Mark Kelly]

8 minutes ago, Ham said:

To be fair, he probably, like the rest of us, thought the 11 he put out were good enough to beat rock bottom Southampton.

I suppose when you look at in the cold light of day you're correct , especially given the amount of opportunities we managed to squander/were heroically saved.

[ROTG]

11 hours ago, Trini_Blue said:

Mudryk would have been ideal for this game but he's got to get match sharpness and I'm not sure how long that's going to take. 

Saw lots of videos of him on Twitter of him doing deadlifts. I wonder if that's something the club is emphasizing with him in terms of core strength because he's been a bit easy to bump off the ball/fall over IMO.

Maybe he is the new Jesper Gronkjaer?

[Trini_Blue]

6 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

The question is whether Potter knows "Conte is going to try to tear us apart on the counter".

Seeing as he didn't apparently know we're nothing without Reece James when resting him against Southampton the jury is very much out on whether he does.

Press conference was weird today. Guy barely spoke about Tottenham. Lots of talk about fitness and preparation and other stuff. 

But yeah it's unlikely that he doesn't know how to line up against Spurs. He got a win against Spurs last year at Spurs IIRC.

[Mark Kelly]

52 minutes ago, ROTG said:

Maybe he is the new Jesper Gronkjaer?

Hope so , the man who saved us when we "had" to qualify for the Champions League or go under by reports at the time.

[Ham]

38 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Hope so , the man who saved us when we "had" to qualify for the Champions League or go under by reports at the time.

Or was he?

[Holymoly]

16 hours ago, Trini_Blue said:

Mudryk would have been ideal for this game but he's got to get match sharpness and I'm not sure how long that's going to take. 

All our forwards need match sharpness. It's the end of February now, still no sign. 

[Max Fowler]

Wierldy, I think we can win this game and I wouldn't be too surprised to see it happen. What a win it would be for Potter and the mood would change absolutely dramatically it has to be said.

A bad loss though - including a bad performance, is also on the cards.

It really does feel make or break. If we lose badly or don't show up it's the beginning of the middle of the end for Potter.

[chara]

39 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

Wierldy, I think we can win this game and I wouldn't be too surprised to see it happen. What a win it would be for Potter and the mood would change absolutely dramatically it has to be said.

A bad loss though - including a bad performance, is also on the cards.

It really does feel make or break. If we lose badly or don't show up it's the beginning of the middle of the end for Potter.

Take your point but I feel even a win here will not change the way the fans are feeling now....a one match delight at a win will not be enough to convince anyone that we have been mistaken regarding the games we have been watching most of the season.

[Michael Tucker]

13 hours ago, Rob B said:

My expectations are pretty much rock bottom so any points at all will be a pleasant surprise. 

This. And watching GP's press conference earlier didn't lift my spirits.

[east lower]

6 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

Hope so , the man who saved us when we "had" to qualify for the Champions League or go under by reports at the time.

He slipped when he shot, no way he hits two goals with his crooked feet. 
 

Lightning quick, but with feet that had minds of their own

[McCreadie]

Would take a draw and a decent performance 

[Michael Tucker]

1 hour ago, McCreadie said:

Would take a draw and a decent performance 

Would like to see a decent performance (or better). A draw would suffice I guess, but I really believe that (if we play well) a win is achievable.

[kev61]

17 hours ago, Rob B said:

I’d be inclined to match them up like for like in a 3-4-3:

                       Kepa

      Fofana.     Silva.    Badiashille

James.       RLC.     Enzo.       Chilwell 

      Sterling.   Havertz.    Felix 

 

 

Looks like a decent lineup to me.However whenever I see Havertz and RLC in the starting team it's like opening a box of chocolates  and seeing a couple of marzipan as choices.

Some people like marzipan,unfortunately if I inadvertently  ate one I would spit it out.

[CarefreeMuratcan]

Brighton and Brentford don't play this match week because they were meant to play away at Newcastle and Manchester United.

Fulham dropped points yesterday. 

It can't be overstated how much a win in this game suddenly puts us back in the Top 4 race. Top 3 teams are a cut above the rest. But 4th is there for the taking. It will be a lower than average points tally required for it this season and I don't think any one team will put in enough of a run to lock the position in. 

We dropped 5 points against Fulham, 2 against Liverpool, 2 against West Ham and 3 against Southampton. That's 12 points. 

We are 11 points behind Spurs with a game in hand at home against Liverpool. 

All we needed were 6/12 of those dropped points and we'd be 5 points behind Spurs right now.

Which further supports my point. There is no pace setter for 4th. We don't need outstanding form. Just better than the relegation form we are in.

[asvaberg]

It's pretty simple: we just have to start playing decent football and score more goals than we concede. How hard can it be ......    🙂