At the request of Spurf, "bells & whistle productions" present the match thread for our upcoming game against Lyon, in the Europa League.
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Match Preview
Tottenham come into this game, on the back of a ten match unbeaten league run, with the from of Gareth Bale being key to the points gained, Bale is our only league scorer in our previous three league games, scoring goals of individual brilliance to ensure the good run under Villas Boas has continued.
The arrival of Holtby means Tottenham now have more options in midfield, in a creative sense, and his experience in the champions league with FC Schalke, will of course be key if Tottenham wish to progress.
Hugo Lloris, a summer arrival from Lyon will be facing his former club in fine form, having kept nine clean sheets in total and five in the ten match unbeaten run, however his fine form won't be of any surprise to Lyon, where he was a favourite and picked up awards for his performances in french football and the champions league.
With Defoe out injured, the return of Adebayor from the ACON and a warm up appearance against Newcastle, should ensure we still have an attacking threat, with many believing Adebayor offers more of an overall threat in the lone striker role, allowing Bale more freedom to roam and attack centrally.
Lyon FC come into this game sitting second in the french league, six points behind leaders PSG, and have had a dip in form since the new year, allowing them to fall slightly behind in the title race and also defeat in the french cup by third-tier minnows Ãpinal.
In their previous game against Lllie, they lost 3-1, yet having read the match report it appears they could have lost by a greater margin, yet it was only their second home loss of the season, meaning the return leg in Lyon is going to be a tough game considering their home record.
Their manager speaking after the game
"This is the first time all season that we have lost two games in a row," said former Arsenal midfielder Garde after the Lille reverse.
"We just weren't up to the challenge physically. This calls into question the performances of everybody at the club."
Possibly we're facing Lyon at the right time, with their confidence taking a knock, the fine form of Bale and our defence providing a solid base to pick up points and over the two legs we appear to be slight favourites for this tie.
Did you know:
- Tottenham finished second in Group J behind Serie A outfit Lazio. The north London club took 10 points from its six games.
- Hugo Lloris made 195 appearances for Lyon during his four-year spell at the club before he departed to move to Tottenham in August.
- The north London club has won the UEFA Cup twice - during its inaugural season in 1972 and in 1984.
- Lyon won Group I in impressive fashion - taking 16 points out of a possible 18 - nine more than second-placed Sparta Prague.
- Ex-Spurs midfielder Steed Malbranque has scored twice in 16 appearances since he joined Lyon last summer.
- Bafetimbi Gomis has netted twice in three Europa League games so far this season, and has been linked with a move to a host of Premier League sides.
Back In Time (provided by THFC6061):
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Previous Meeting:
[video=youtube_share;YCqjSIjPCx8]http://youtu.be/YCqjSIjPCx8[/video]
I apologise on behalf of the creator of the above video for his moment of madness in adding music to the highlights so you may wish to press mute....unless "eye of the tiger" is your type of thing!