Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United

please log in to view this image

Sunday 21st November 4.30pm
Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium​

Another international break is finally over and we're back to the Premier League.
Conte's first two games went from the insane to the tedious, so I've no idea what to expect from this one.
Neither side is in great form and we all know that these breaks can mix things up in unexpected ways.
Bielsa will be looking to turn things around quickly and get back to how his side were playing last season.
Can Conte pick up his first Premier League win at Spurs or will we have another disappointing result?

Leeds' last campaign was Marcelo Bielsa's third at the club and all three were pretty successful.
He replaced the short-lived Paul Heckingbottom in the summer of 2018 in a fairly surprising move.
The Yorkshire club had finished 13th place under the former Barnsley man and he was deeply unpopular.
Bringing in a big name who was highly regarded by a lot of younger managers was unexpected.
He may have been nicknamed El Loco, but nobody thought he was mad enough to take this job.

His first season introduced his style of play and it was clear what he demands from his players.
It was just too much for that squad and they narrowly missed out on promotion, losing in the play-offs.
The following campaign was another improvement and they won the 2nd tier at a canter.
Their momentum carried into the Premier League and they impressed everyone with their performances.
A 9th place finish and plaudits all round took their manager to his longest stay at any side, so far.

This time they've not hit the ground running, however.
Patrick Bamford has missed a lot of games and it's badly affected how effective the rest of the team is.
Raphinha has chipped in with 5 goals, but everyone else is struggling to find the net.
The opening day drubbing by hated rival Man Utd set the stage and they're yet to shrug off that form.
They've tightened up at the back in the last five games though, which is a good sign for them.

This match was the opening game of 2021 for us last season and it went well.
A fairly even start shifted in our direction when Alioski fouled Bergwijn unnecessarily for a penalty.
Kane put it away to give us the lead, then set up Son just before the break, who claimed our second.
The Korean took his turn as a provider just after half-time, as Alderweireld headed home his corner.
The only sour note came in injury time, as Doherty picked up a 2nd yellow card and was sent off:

The reverse fixture was one of our worst efforts under Ryan Mason near the end of the season.
Dallas put them ahead early on, as Lloris was forced to palm a Davies' ball out to prevent an own goal.
Son levelled things up from a well-weighted Alli pass and then it looked like we had taken the lead.
Kane was flagged offside from another Alli pass, but the replays looked level. It didn't count, though.
Bamford and Rodrigo went on to score for them and the overall performance wasn't good enough:

Romero will miss this one and there are doubts about Hojbjerg, Gil and Sessegnon.
Skipp is also suspended.
Koch, Ayling and Bamford are out for the visitors, who will test Firpo, Shackleton and Gelhardt.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Lloris; Royal, Dier, Romero, Davies, Reguilon; Skipp, Hojbjerg; Moura, Kane, Son.
Subs: Gollini, Doherty, Sanchez, Tanganga, Winks, Lo Celso, Ndombele, Alli, Bergwijn.
League form: LWWLLD.

Leeds: Meslier; Dallas, Llorente, Cooper, Struijk; Forshaw, Phillips; Raphinha, James, Harrison; Rodrigo.
Subs: Klaesson, Drameh, Cresswell, Hjelde, Bate, Klich, McKinstry, Summerville, Roberts.
League form: LWLDWD.

Ref: Andre Marriner. VAR: Darren England.

TV: Sky Sports.

How would you like to line up for this one?
Would you stick with much of the same lineup from the Everton, tinker a little or change it completely?
Which system and tactics would you use and what are you expecting Leeds to go with?

 

Paul Madeley
Paul Reaney
Paul Stewart
No, but Jonathan Woodgate, Paul Robinson, Aaron Lennon, Danny Rose, Jack Clarke, Terry Yorath, Robbie Keane, David Kerslake

 

We’re gonna have to watch a midfield two (or three) that’ll consist of either Winks, Ndombele, Lo Celso or Dele whilst also a defence without Cuti.

****.

 

Højbjerg trained today, at least.

 

Andre Marriner

 

Conte’s giving his press conference.

Said Romero will need another scan to determine how long he’s out for. Initial media reports said he could be back by early December but by the way Conte’s said this I wonder if there’s now potentially a longer return date… brilliant.

Also said Lo Celso returned in not the best way. Not really fussed about him but can’t say I’m surprised either, guy’s made of glass.

Winks or Ndombele will replace the suspended Skipp. Though did say Ndombele needs to work harder (oh that’s a surprise) so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Winks starting.

Seems 50-50 on Hojbjerg starting. So I presume if he doesn’t, it’ll be Winks and Ndombele.

 

Conte has said that either Winks or Ndombele will replace Skipp

...anyone else finding themselves hoping it's Winks?

 

Just read that GLC came back from international duty with a "slight " knock , is it my imagination or does he return every time with an injury

 

He regularly sacrifices his ankles for the Argentine cause

 

They're all ****, aren't they? There's a few that are clearly worse, but none are any good.

 

Currently no worse off on GA on the "season compass" , but the GF is woeful.
Need to start scoring, and plenty, pronto.

 

GD is really weird this year. Aside from the top 4 and Palace, not a single team has a positive GD and that isn't going to change tomorrow as we're on -7 and Everton are away to City.

It's a huge problem. Last game was a welcome clean sheet but to have scored 9 goals in 11 fixtures is a disgrace given the attackers we have.

 

Feeling a lot more optimistic about things than when I bought tomorrow’s tickets a while ago.

Not expecting miracles but hopefully a decent run of fixtures over next couple of weeks means we can get some points on the board before January.

 

Can we have the "England" version of Kane please. Hopefully after his England exploits, he remembers how to score.

 

Needs service for that to happen.

Spurs haven’t created anything in the last few league games, need to work on that and the goals will come for Kane

 

Yeah a couple of soft penalties and some comedy defending from Leeds and a midfield making some chances for him might also come in handy.

 

It will be interesting to see who starts in midfield. I'm a card carrying Dele detractor, but think Conte's system could make him useful again. I also think that Ndombele may be the key player at this point, just because Spurs don't have another player to make key passes.except one who needs to be on the end of them. (Edit) I guess Conte doesn't see it that way.

I also wonder if there will be any other surprises. (Edit) No.

I'm not too concerned about the outcome today, if only because fast starts under Mourinho and Nuno proved false dawns.

 

Tanganga starts

 

More creativity on the bench than the starting 11... although attitude and commitment is another matter.

 

Dier + Davies + Winks.
A DH starting XI made in heaven.