please log in to view this image Saturday 27th April 12.30pm Premier League Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Another game at the new stadium and another win, albeit one provided by another Eriksen late show. Arsenal and Man Utd both lost the following day, so we're in a great position to grab third place now. It's the Olympic squatter's cup final though, so we can't get complacent and put ourselves back under pressure. Our Champions League semi-final with Ajax looms and we need to go into it in good form. Will Pochettino select the right side to send us forward on the front foot? Manuel Pellegrini's first campaign at the West Ham helm has been quite mixed, but promising. They've shown signs of improvement and progress, while not quite getting to where they want to be. Their disastrous start saw them lose the first four games, then pick up an unlikely seven points in the next three. Wins against Everton and Man Utd sandwiched a draw against Chelsea, which isn't a bad snapshot of their season. Thoughts of Europe have drifted in recent weeks though, as their form has dipped badly. Will they be happy with how they've done under their new manager? Yes and no. No relegation battle and they've played well at times, but their squad needs serious adjustment. They have one of the older sides in the league and it's time for a number of them to move on. The likes of Rice, Diop, Diangana and some of their loanees give them hope for the future, though. Their main issue is the owners and the general hatred that the fans have for them. The game at Wembley last season was quite an odd one. We dominated in every sense and it should've been an easy win, yet we came out of it with barely a draw. Chances came and went, as did the first half, until Obiang hit their first shot in the 70th minute. The stunning strike put them into the lead, despite not having had a touch in our box all night. Son's equaliser was also a superb hit, but we couldn't grab a winner in the dying seconds: The match at the Olympic Stadium was a much tougher test, but one which saw us take all three points. A fairly cagey first half saw little created, until Sissoko found Lamela's late run with a fine cross, which was headed home. Fabianski prevented a quick second before the break, but they held on until half-time. The hosts had far more about them in the second half, but couldn't beat a resolute Hugo Lloris: Sissoko, Aurier and Kane are all still out, while Alli, Rose, Winks and Lamela are doubts. Nasri is out for them, while Hernandez, Lanzini, Cresswell face tests. Neither side has any suspensions. Lineups for each side's last league game: Spurs: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Eriksen, Wanyama, Alli; Moura, Llorente, Son. Subs: Gazzaniga, Sanchez, Foyth, Davies, Dier, Skipp, Janssen. League form: LLWWLW. West Ham: Fabianski; Zabaleta, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Rice; Antonio, Noble, Snodgrass, Anderson; Arnautovic. Subs: Adrian, Fredericks, Diop, Obiang, Wilshere, Diangana, Perez. League form: LWLLLD. Referee: Anthony Taylor. TV: Sky Sports. How would you approach this one, given our opponents and our upcoming fixtures? Should we start 3, 4 or 5 at the back and would you pick 1, 2 or 3 up front? Llorente or no Llorente? Would you leave anyone out for this one in preparation for Ajax or go full strength, as much as we can?
Another win required to keep us on course for 3rd - If we win this one and get a good set of sunday scores then the kids can all play at Bournemouth. Standard 2 matches in a week changes and with the lack of midfield options maybe 3 at the back Hugo, KWP, Foyth, Big Dave, Toby, Ben, Dier, Skipp, Eriksen, Son and Janssen - Hope that Lamela is fit enough to give Eriksen at least 30 mins rest if we are winning
Seriously disappointing Serge Aurier (hamstring), Erik Lamela (hamstring), Moussa Sissoko (groin) and Harry Winks (groin) are all still missing as, of course is Harry Kane (ankle).
KWP to start then... George Marsh will probably be on the bench again too, given he's been pictured training with the first team in the last couple of days
Such a hard selection. A win would be huge as it would then just mean one more win in our final two games would cement top three (I think!?). But if we go all out against West Ham and risk injuries/ fatigue vs Ajax that could spell trouble. These are two games where Poch definitely has earn his money. Our strongest side would be: Hugo Tripps, Toby, Jan, Rose Wanyama, Dier Lucas, Eriksen, Alli Son But I think we may line up with something like: Hugo Foyth, Dave, Toby KWP, Dier, Alli, Davies Eriksen Janssen, Son
The Spanners come to town for one of their occasional "multi-faceted" "cup finals" . With Spurs playing first out of the top 6, these are the consequences of a win for the rest : 1. Chelsky lose : they can only finish above Spurs at BEST by GD. 2. the Goons lose : they cannot finish above Spurs. 3. Man Utd do not win : they cannot finish above Spurs. 4. 2 and 3 : Spurs finish in the PL top 4 this weekend. The only starting XI guaranteed is : GK, Son. Who the rest will be is a real "acid test" for Pochettino.
If Utd beat Chelsea or Leicester beat Arsenal we only need to win 1 of 3. 1 win puts us out of reach for Utd (whatever they do) and then a Chelsea or Arsenal loss would put them out.
Does anyone really think we will do it the easy way and win tomorrow - Its the spammers cup final the one day in the season where they are guaranteed to turn up right on the money - One of those matches that is never easy and I feel sure that this one at our new stadium will be a massive motivation for both their players and supporters alike.
We should go full strength. We only have 5 games to go (well hopefully 6). With so much at stake we need to play our strongest team from now on in. There is 3 and a half days to recover for another home match. They should be fine!
It’s more about risking injury than fatigue, although the latter is still a factor. West Ham will be an intense game where both sides will be going 100mph, being a rivalry too there’s bound to be some harsh tackling from both sides. I think it’d be a risk to go completely full strength tomorrow, I want the win but the fact we have a CL semi final at home round the corner, I’d want the lads to be as fresh and as injury-free as possible for that.
It is a risk but if we get a good win confidence will be high. I think it's a risk worth taking. I really think it needs to be strongest team now as we aren't good enough to think we can rest key players against West ham. Imagine them beating us on Saturday and losing our 100% record at New WHL? We want to go into the Ajax game with another win behind us and not coming off a loss to one of our biggest rivals. That would be worse IMO.
There’s no guarantee of a win either way though. The mentality of a more rotated side may even be better for this as some will be wanting to prove themselves and give Poch a selection headache for the CL games, whereas those currently likely to start on Tuesday may have half an eye on that fixture. As I said previously though, this is where Poch really has to earn his money.
True but with our best team surely we have a better chance! I don't disagree with what you are saying at all though. It is a tricky situation. If Poch can get 2 wins then he really is magic!
This is where Pochettino needs to be clever. The Spanners know that Son has a 90 min licence to run riot, and will set up accordingly to thwart him, My message to him tomorrow would be : go full Bale 2013 (I don't care where you play or where you go to pick up the ball, do as you see fit) . That will make attacking opportunities for other players to exploit. I would go for Dier in the starting XI (and spare Wanyama) , as he likes getting involved in London derbies with our more verminous neighbours (Skipp could be ok for 30 mins if the game is wrapped up by 60 mins) .
Also have Moussa Sissoko sitting in the dugout. That'll make Mark Noble **** a brick and stop thinking he's a hard man...
