please log in to view this image Sunday 11th March 4pm Premier League Vitality Stadium A disappointing end to our Champions League campaign leads to a need to avoid a similar fate in the league. We need to bounce back quickly and we need to do it well, too. Given those circumstances we may not be facing the best fixture. Our south coast hosts are on the up at the moment and have put in some impressive performances. How will the team react to our first loss of the year and will it be enough to get back to winning ways? Eddie Howe's side came into the season with boosted expectations and some decent signings. Jermain Defoe, Asmir Begovic and Nathan Ake added to a respectable squad that played some good football. The manager's reputation was on the up, as they avoided second season syndrome and finished in the top half. Bournemouth were growing and things were looking good. The start of the campaign did not go to plan, however. Four straight losses and only one goal scored saw them in 19th place, barely hovering above Everton at the bottom. Ronald Koeman became the first managerial casualty of the season and he'd only done slightly worse. There was some reactionary talk about Howe, especially as they hadn't left 19th place by the 10th match. A relegation struggle looked likely until a post-Christmas turn of form. They've only lost one game since Boxing Day, as things have turned around and they've become hard to beat. Wins against Everton and Arsenal are high on their list of good wins in that run, but the highlight came at Stamford Bridge. Few people gave them much of a chance in that match, but nobody predicted a 3-0 win for the visitors. Howe survived and now his resurgent side are one of the form teams in the division. Our match at Wembley earlier in the season was our first league win at the stadium. A tough first half saw chances at a premium, as Eric Dier's near own goal was saved by Hugo Lloris. Christian Eriksen broke the deadlock just after half-time though, as the visitors failed to stop his run and shot. Begovic prevented the lead from being extended on a few occasions before Defoe drew a save from Lloris. The solitary goal was enough, as the supposed Wembley Curse was broken: The trip to Dean Court in the last campaign was similarly tight, as both sides contained the other. Erik Lamela hit the woodwork on two occasions and both keepers made a couple of decent saves, too. There was little to divide the teams and few other chances, though. Nobody could get the upper hand and it finished goalless: Jan Vertonghen has returned to training with the squad, but is unlikely to be available to start. Eric Dier also picked up an elbow injury against Juventus and will be assessed before the match. Mings is out for Bournemouth, while Ibe, Pugh and Fraser are all doubts and face late tests. Neither side has any suspensions. Spurs: Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Dier, Dembele; Eriksen, Alli, Son; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Rose, Wanyama, Sissoko, Moura, Lamela. League form: DWDWWW. Bournemouth: Begovic; Francis, S. Cook, Ake; Smith, L. Cook, Gosling, Daniels; King, Wilson, Stanislas. Subs: Boruc; Simpson, Surman, Taylor, Fraser, Mousset, Defoe. League form: DWWLDD. Referee: Mike Dean. TV: Sky Sports. It was a tough game on Wednesday, both physically and mentally, so do we need to make changes? Do we need to switch tactics or alter our system to deal with our hosts? Does anyone need a rest or does anyone need to be promoted to our bench?
Moura needs to start. We bought him to play, it was an advantage that he was available for CL so why did he not get minutes on Wednesday when he is exactly what we needed? We now need to make him feel wanted.
Yep, not as though he's looked poor when he has played. Looked exciting and something different from what we have. Also Alli, Dier and Son probably need a break.
Son needs to start imo...it would be mad to drop him as he is in great goal scoring form. Would leave Moura or Lamela on the bench.
Except he run himself into the ground on Wednesday and needs a break. We have to trust Lucas and Lamela.
And mentally drained it seemed to me in his interview. Have to start Lucas - need to get him fully up to speed ASAP!
well...when it all goes wrong you both know who I will be holding responsible. You mo fos have been warned
hate to be a bitch but would not be sorry about Dier missing the match. He has been ok at best but mostly below average since November with only a couple of exceptions.
You won’t be alone in those thoughts Big fan of a fully functioning ED - just hasn’t been at that level for a while. He’ll be back though.
