You could say that it gives us better options on the bench - but by that time Stoke may have pulverised us....... Not looking forward to this be bit
Yeah it is. Even if he was fit, I can see why verts is at LB. we need height and strength at the back today.
That's the same back line as we had for Stoke at home. On that occasion, AVB left out Naughton who had played at LB in the previous game against Swansea, and moved Verts to LB, brought Caulker in for the added height. He's done the same today but it's Benny who has been omitted.
Very true, but hudd is slow on the ball. I see him struggling to play his passing game today and instead, spending more time breaking up stoke's threat. I hope I'm wrong. I usually am. Exactly, gotta start with the best options possible. Dembeles absence is a fair one, but we are gonna massively struggle to create anything today, IMO. We could be in for another woeful game of football, relying on bale to pop up and win us the game, again
Looks to me like he's picked a side specifically to cope with Stoke's physical & aerial threats. It's never pretty against that lot.
Lloris; Walker, Caulker, Dawson, Vertonghen; Lennon, Huddlestone, Parker, Dempsey, Bale ; Adebayor Friedel, Naughton, Carroll, Dembele, Holtby, Sigurdsson, Defoe Would've gone with Holtby alongside Parker myself...
