Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Watford

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Sunday 1st January 1.30pm
Premier League
Vicarage Road​

Three wins on the bounce and things are looking up a little.
We've got Chelsea up next though, so we really could do with continuing this run a little longer.
We're missing some big names though, so it could be a tricky one.
We'll be seeing some familiar faces too, who will be looking to prove a point.

The Hornets haven't been on the best of form recently, but came from behind to draw in their last game.
Palace started much quicker than them and only a Gomes penalty save kept them in it.
He did give it away, admittedly, but the stop turned the tide and they rescued a point.
Troy Deeney put away his spot kick to even it up, breaking a long drought in the process.
It was his 100th goal for the club too, so he'll take a lot from that.

Our visit to Vicarage Road last season ended in controversy, but also with three points.
The game was almost a year ago to the day and the linesman gave us a late Christmas present.
Erik Lamela opened the scoring fairly early in the first half, after an Alli tackle gave him the ball.
Ighalo leveled things up before the break though, holding off Dier before firing home.
We went in at 1-1 at half-time, having had a lot of possession, but not doing enough with it.

The second half started in much the same fashion, until Nathan Ake was dismissed for a high tackle.
Ighalo threatened to follow him too, whacking Carroll repeatedly with a flailing arm.
Watford nearly took the lead from a corner, as our blushes were saved by goalline technology.
Trippier's late cross to Son provided a moment of trickery and fury though, as the Korean flicked it home.
A jumping, backheeled goal is a rarity, but the home side were furious at the lack of a linesman's flag.

The home game had a similarly close scoreline, but was far less of a battle.
We dominated the game, completely outplaying a strangely quiet Watford side.
Heurelho Gomes put in an outstanding performance though, frustrating us for quite some time.
Kieran Trippier became the unlikely candidate to break the deadlock, scoring just after the hour.
It was enough though, as Watford failed to hit the target once.

Interesting that Trippier was involved in both winners and will play again in this one.
Seems unlikely that he'd even be playing in all three games, even.

Walker and Vertonghen picked up their fifth yellows of the season against Southampton, so they're suspended.
Lamela's still out, but Alderweireld may return, after missing the last game with a virus.
Watford have Miguel Britos suspended and something of an injury crisis.
Success, Behrami, Janmaat, Okaka, Peyreyra and Marriappa all miss out through various issues.
Ben Watson will also be absent, due to family problems.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Lloris; Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Wanyama, Dembele; Eriksen, Alli, Sissoko; Kane.
Subs: Vorm, Wimmer, Davies, Winks, N'Koudou, Son, Janssen.
League form: LWLWWW.

Watford: Gomes; Britos, Prodl, Kaboul; Holebas, Behrami, Guedioura, Janmaat; Amrabat, Capoue; Ighalo.
Subs: Pantilimon, Kabasele, Zuniga, Cathcart, Doucoure, Sinclair, Deeney.
League form: LLWLLD.

Referee: Michael Oliver.

TV: Sky Sports 1.

Given our suspensions and the possible return of Alderweireld, how should we set up at the back?
Do we need to rotate further up the park, especially given our next opponents?
Is there anything that we need to address tactically to deal with Watford's system?

 

Interesting this one, as almost 12 months ago Pochettino started rotation of
the FBs, and fate gave Wimmer a chance to front up for a while (and very well indeed) .

This was quite a physical game last season, and of course you have the WatSpurs factor
which could turn the game into a <standard> .

 

Paul Stewart bought a pie at Watford Gap Services

 

Paul Stewart was once in a car park and some bloke asked him if the blue ford was his and Paul (who had an ear infection at the time) didn't hear the whole sentence so he asked "Watford?"

I'll get me coat

 

The back four is going to be shuffled big time what with Walker and Jan being suspended, Toby returning and the possibility of giving Danny a rest to save him for Chelsea.

Will be a tough game, can see this being one where we'll need to out score Watford (state the obvious, SoS!) but I mean that as I can't see there being a clean sheet for either side. We're great on the front foot at the moment while the switched up back line likely won't be as formidable, though that said, I'd drop Dembele and play Dier with Wanyama, their solidity will help cover that rusty defence.

Hugo
Tripps, Toby, Kev, Davies
Dier, Wanyama
Sissoko, Eriksen, Alli
Kane

Vorm, KWP, CCV, Dembele, Winks, Son, Janssen

Going to be tough for GKN to get game time now what with Sissoko's much improved form, Son still scoring goals and Lamela nearing a possible return, it might be ideal to see if we can get him a loan to a Prem side, I'm sure there'll be some takers lower down the division who could do with some pace and trickery.

COYS!

 

I've got a nasty feeling that Toby isn't gonna be fit for this one. Poch said he had a virus on Wednesday and had been sick and feverish. To return to a 90min game of professional football on Sunday is quite a lot to ask. We're all human at the end of the day. I think he could be on the bench and we could see Dier and Kev at the back.

It's another must win game, and with Walker suspended i don't know if we can afford to drop Rose bearing in mind the pace we'll already have lost without Walker. Tripper will provide some dangerous crosses from the right hand side and IIRC he was one of the stand out players in this fixture last season. However, if Davies is to be the LB option I almost feel that he NEEDS Lamela in support, which isn't going to happen. - In a way, this could be the perfect game for GKN to feature as Watford won't be expecting it, and he could well provide us the much needed pace we need, and would allow Rose to have a rest. Very unlikely, though.

It's more likely IMO that we'll see Son and Winksy start the game as they played less mins on wednesday

Lloris
Trippier Dier Kev Davies
Wanyama Winks
Son Alli Eriksen
Kane

 

WE have missed Lamela's energy all over the park he gives us a sense of urgency that we sometimes lack. Everybody is praising our performance against Southampton but I still think we lacked pace for much of the game. Rose was my man of the match for providing much of our spark.
Another similar game is in prospect IMO and our decimated defence will promote caution from us. A quiet win will be fine as long as we can up our game considerably following that.

 

Hope Walker and Vertongen take a long look at themselves cos their lack of discipline v Southampton could proof to be very costly on Sunday

 

I've said it a few times and i probably sound like a broken record, but without walker and rose, there's currently no one else anywhere on the pitch who can provide us with that pace and athleticism.
When Rose and Walker sat a little deeper and defensive for the first 15-20 against saints, the front 4 didn't get a kick. The pair of them are so vital in bringing the likes of Alli, Kane & co into the game, because of the danger they possess out wide, even when they don't have the ball. - Not only do the opposition's wide players have to keep an eye on them, but their touchline positioning creates gaps in central areas for the front 4 to exploit.

 

Maybe we'll go back 3 to push the FBs further forward and compensate a bit. Trippier doesn't have Walker's athleticism or quite the defensive ability but he's technically better than I think we like to give him credit for and he's got a cracking cross on him. We did play a back 3 away at Watford last year I think.

 

Trippier's replacement of Walker makes less difference to us than Davies replacing Rose. I'm uneasy at the thought of replacing both full backs for the same game. I think we have to play Rose tomorrow and against Chelsea and then rest him, if at all possible. They are essential to our attacking and are contributing assists and goals at a tremendous rate.

 

Great shout
Would need Toby at full fitness for this though.

 

Are Watford currently managed by Tony Curtis?
Just saying.

 

Right then.

In a way, and I may come to regret saying this, but perhaps Walker and Jan getting a rest before Chelsea is a blessing in disguise? Both players have been almost ever-present this season and could do with a breather. I will only be bricking it if Toby isn't fully fit and we have to go with a Dier-Wimmer pairing at the back. I like both players individually but together they lack the experience to cope at this level. Most match previews are saying that Toby will be back, so with that taken as a given:

Hugo
Trippier Toby Kev Davies
Wanyama Dembele
Sissoko Eriksen Alli
Kane

Dembele for me hasn't had nearly enough football recently. He had a good game against Soton but began to look quite leggy as the second half progressed (especially concerning considering the fact that we were up against 10 men) and probably should've come off for Winks 10 minutes earlier than he did. I think he needs another game under his belt to bring up his sharpness before Chelsea.

Doomsday averted. As you were folks.

 

There is some serious underestimation of Ben Davies on here. He may lack a yard of Roses pace, but he is the better defender and we should have been rotating the FB's more frequently anyway. Yes, Rose (and Walker) has been excellent this term, but he needs a rest and we have to have a plan B - something that is still strangely missing.
So - if Lamela is still absent then surely put in GKN to replace the pace on the left side. Hardly complicated!

 

Happy New Year to all, by the way!!

 

Got to agree with you there Spur - we seem to have a short memory of Davies' outstanding defensive performances for Wales at the Euros (in the centre no less!).
Not blessed with pace like Rose but solid and reliable and with no disrespect to Watford this is his type of game.

 

I wonder if Dier will move into the midfield or if he'll be part of a three at the back?