In today's press conference the Gaffer confirmed that Ream is still out, as is Mawson. Odoi is of course under suspension for this one. The good news is that Bryan should be okay.
As for spurs, we all know about their lack of new signings in the window, said to be because of the cost of the new stadium. Which of course, we also know, isn't ready to plan and the resulting 'bending of the rules' by the FA allowing them to continue playing at Wembley. Be that as it may, Pochettino is likely to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation, which he heavily favoured there last year.
Quite simply it enables Alli, Eriksen and Moura to have free attacking roles, continually interchanging and moving defenders around. Creating gaps for Kane to exploit. Allied to this is their fullbacks bombing forward to put pressure on the defence. Not sure exactly what the team selection will be but don't hold with the view (after the win against Newcastle last weekend) that the World Cup "team" looked sluggish/not ready - there's enough quality around to play at half pace. And I won't even contemplate "Harry Kane and August".
For us, only three players are guaranteed to be on the team sheet - Chambers, Seri and Mitrovic. Every other position is up for grabs.
One thing for certain is that Jokanovic needs to make sure we're solid at the back and there's better protection in front of them. And all of that without compromising our attacking potential. Seri put in a decent defensive performance against Palace and the obvious first question is whether Anguissa, after only a couple of days training, can come to bolster the holding role?
Turning to the attack, Cairney was very reserved against Palace and he could be under threat (mentioned before that he seems confused about his role when playing alongside Seri). My feeling is that Jokanovic will use this game - let's face it, one of the toughest of the season - to test a slightly different approach. While not abandoning his 'possession' mantra, being a tad more defensive minded to stifle the Spurs midfield. And bring in mostly new faces in the starting line up:
..............................Rico................
..Christie...Chambers..Le Marchand...Bryan..
...........................Anguissa..
.......................Seri...................
.......Shurrle......Vitello......Sessegnon..
...........................Mitrovic...
[A case could be made for bringing in Fosu-Mensah at RB but feel that Jokanovic will give Christie another opportunity - on the assumption that he's been working on those crosses in training.]
As for spurs, we all know about their lack of new signings in the window, said to be because of the cost of the new stadium. Which of course, we also know, isn't ready to plan and the resulting 'bending of the rules' by the FA allowing them to continue playing at Wembley. Be that as it may, Pochettino is likely to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation, which he heavily favoured there last year.
Quite simply it enables Alli, Eriksen and Moura to have free attacking roles, continually interchanging and moving defenders around. Creating gaps for Kane to exploit. Allied to this is their fullbacks bombing forward to put pressure on the defence. Not sure exactly what the team selection will be but don't hold with the view (after the win against Newcastle last weekend) that the World Cup "team" looked sluggish/not ready - there's enough quality around to play at half pace. And I won't even contemplate "Harry Kane and August".
For us, only three players are guaranteed to be on the team sheet - Chambers, Seri and Mitrovic. Every other position is up for grabs.
One thing for certain is that Jokanovic needs to make sure we're solid at the back and there's better protection in front of them. And all of that without compromising our attacking potential. Seri put in a decent defensive performance against Palace and the obvious first question is whether Anguissa, after only a couple of days training, can come to bolster the holding role?
Turning to the attack, Cairney was very reserved against Palace and he could be under threat (mentioned before that he seems confused about his role when playing alongside Seri). My feeling is that Jokanovic will use this game - let's face it, one of the toughest of the season - to test a slightly different approach. While not abandoning his 'possession' mantra, being a tad more defensive minded to stifle the Spurs midfield. And bring in mostly new faces in the starting line up:
..............................Rico................
..Christie...Chambers..Le Marchand...Bryan..
...........................Anguissa..
.......................Seri...................
.......Shurrle......Vitello......Sessegnon..
...........................Mitrovic...
[A case could be made for bringing in Fosu-Mensah at RB but feel that Jokanovic will give Christie another opportunity - on the assumption that he's been working on those crosses in training.]
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