Basically this is just an interim match thread until THFC6061 pops in with his. So, have we any idea about team news? Are Chadli and Bentaleb back? I do love the derbies and they've got better as the two sides have got more evenly matched over the past decade. It's the unpredictable nature of them that I think makes the NLD particularly special. As much as there have been some excellent players to play in the tie, a flop like Bentley or an untried youngster like Rose can pull out a piece of brilliance to stun everyone and a top player like Fabregas can go from hero to villain with a piece of stupidity(I'm thinking handball in the 3-2). It might've been nice to have the second derby a bit later in the season for the result to carry more meaning but with the early kick off it's a good chance for one of the sides to get into the top 4, even if it's only briefly. Anyone brave enough to make any predictions then?
i'm glad someone likes them. I'm happy its an early kick off though, more time to get over it before going back to work. I think we'll lose
I'd go with: Lloris; Walker, Fazio, Vertonghen, Rose; Mason, Bentaleb; Townsend, Eriksen, Chadli; Kane. Dembele has impressed in his more attacking role recently, though. Pochettino seems to rate Lamela very highly, too. Wouldn't be surprised to see either of those start.
Sanchez being out is big I think. Walcott and Ozil are not fully match ready yet and so Cazorla is the biggest danger. If Mason can keep him quiet, we should be the better team.
I always love the build up to it, spending all week looking forward to the game it's the closest thing to how I felt about Christmas as a kid. I don't always enjoy the result but I can usually enjoy most of the game at least. Funnily this season's draw was the first in ages that I've been a bag of nerves for and that's only because losing 4 in a row against them would've been awful and I knew we'd have been in real trouble if we lost with Southampton and City coming up. I don't think there's a whole lot to lose this time so I'm going to enjoy it, it's my favourite game of the year. Dier's a possibility too but I'm expecting roughly the same as you with Lamela starting over Townsend.
Walcott always scores against us however... I plan on putting Cazorla, Giroud and Walcott in my fantasy football team - if we lose, at least I should get some points.
If Bentaleb is ok to play and not feeling too fatigued or jet lagged, then I'd go exactly with PNP's team. Ars*nal showed against Villa that they can play without Sanchez (although it was Villa) but his exclusion is obviously a massive bonus for us, especially as we have a fully fit squad (is the world about to end or something? Spurs and fully fit squad just doesn't go). I hope we can exploit the full backs, I know this Bellerin kid has supposedly been performing really well but someone of Chadli's calibre, with his off the ball movement and skill should be able to cause damage, likewise with Townsend against Monreal, the LB for me is one of their weakest links as Gibbs gets too many injuries and I personally think Monreal is defensively naïve at times from what I've seen of him, so I hope Townsend gives him a tough time as I think that's where we can cause some damage. I've been changing my prediction for the game every hour, although 3-2 to Spurs has been one that's popped into my head more than others. Here's hoping there's a reason behind that!
I am wondering if Walcott has the balls to go and take a corner in the East stand/Park Lane corner. If he does, I confidently predict the little **** will get more dogs abuse since Sol Campbell returned to the Lane.
