West Brom versus Tottenham: A preview
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold, but the thought of putting several past West Brom this weekend may not make up for the pain of last season.
We should know by now that the Premier League serves up no easy games, but there is always a sense that facing the Baggies will be easy. Three points in the bag, no problem at all. It is probably why our recent record against them is pretty poor, as Spurs have won just one of the last six league meetings. We don’t need to be reminded about the recent encounter in late April which was an absolute hammer blow to our chances of winning the title, with Craig Dawson scoring for us before putting one in our net in a result that ultimately gave Leicester the incentive to complete their fairytale story. It may sell as well as Jamie Vardy’s autobiography, even if our fans felt like having several drops of port themselves after West Brom ruined the party at the Lane.
The Baggies are a determined bunch, make no bones about it. Tony Pulis is not exactly from the Mauricio Pochettino School of playing attractive, eye-catching football, but his team manages to pick up results…somehow. Old school or not, they are unpredictable and also love a draw, as we know to our cost; the points have been shared in four of our last six games against them, with the 1-1 draws home and away last season proving costly in our pursuit of glory. Coral make us resounding favourites to make it six wins in all competitions and extend our unbeaten start to the league campaign, but while placing a big football bet on a home win may be tempting to some, there is still a job to be done on the pitch.
These are the types of games in which we have slipped up in the past, but there appears to be a greater determination and steel about Tottenham in the opening exchanges of this season. Pochettino has got the team playing at a higher tempo than last season, even without Harry Kane whose ankle injury has not proved as costly as we all feared. Even if Manchester City have stolen the headlines at the top of the tree, we have been a joy to watch; there is a song doing the rounds that Heung-Min Son is on fire (they ought to be terrified given the way he’s been playing lately), Dele Alli is finally hitting top form after the rubbish summer he suffered with England at Euro 2016 (not him personally, but Iceland…need we say more?), and we finally have a ultra-strong back four that do not require a plumber to fix the leaks. All the components are there to have another crack at ending our fifty-five year-long wait for a league title, even if sceptics reckoned last season was a mere flash in the pan.
Any old win for Spurs would do, even if we have to get into a battle with the Baggies to get the three points. It is highly unlikely that they will let us stroll into their own backyard and pass it around for fun without a physical challenge or two coming our way, especially not with old boy Nacer Chadli wanting to prove that Pochettino was wrong to let him leave the Lane. We would gladly take a repeat of the 3-0 win we picked up at the Hawthornes in January 2015 thanks to goals from Christian Eriksen and a brace for Kane, but we would be naïve for thinking it will be as straightforward as that. Pochettino would certainly settle for a professional performance that was perfectly executed and ensured that Spurs retained control of the game without having to go toe-to-toe in a ding-dong match.
We already know that Kane will miss the bus with his swollen ankle, but there is hope that Mousa Dembele returns from a hamstring issue to give us a bit of steel and bite in the engine room. The Belgian star, if passed fit, may not come up against Darren Fletcher who is West Brom’s only injury doubt with a thigh problem – a key loss that could give us the impetus to control a vital area of the pitch and unleash Son to create havoc across their backline. We have to feel confident of coming away from the Midlands with all three points given the way we have been playing – form is not always everything, but confidence is clearly flowing throughout the team to the extent that the players must fancy their chances. It is perhaps a cynical way of thinking, but giving Manchester City an absolute hiding at the Lane will ultimately count for nothing if we cannot go to West Brom and get a result.
Another win on the board would certainly set us up for the first part of the crucial Champions League double header against Bayer Leverkusen. Coral are suggesting it’s a strong match to bet on if you are a Spurs fan as the Germans have not exactly made the best of starts to their domestic or European campaign, particularly at home. Not only have they been shaky at the BayArena in the Bundesliga, but Leverkusen also let a two-goal lead slip CSKA Moscow, who Spurs managed to get a crucial victory against and are considered the weakest team in the group. This fixture has exactly the same ring to it as the one at the Hawthorns – the game is there for the taking if Spurs at on it from the first whistle and turn into a juggernaut that only Monaco have been able to get the better of this season.
