Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa pre-match thread

[OCD]

Our forwards must play against a high-line all the time in training. A better drilled one too. And with their centre backs not even being their first choice ones, you would think we would be getting through more often than Chelsea did. We just need to be better defensively.

[Meanwood Villa]

This confidence is unnerving in a Foresty way

[Monty]

Yeah there's no way we should be this chipper! They're still very good, and Son is like a player grown in our arch-enemy's lab to exploit our biggest weakness. Yes, we have weapons to hurt them too, and nothing wrong with a bit of confidence, but this looks to me like a very tough one indeed, one of the toughest matches of the season.

[Sexual Ealing]

Yes, we will lose.

[andyh]

I just want us to beat these bastards so much.

[Risso]

I think even with their injuries, we'll lose this one.

[RamboandBruno]

Yeah there's no way we should be this chipper! They're still very good, and Son is like a player grown in our arch-enemy's lab to exploit our biggest weakness. Yes, we have weapons to hurt them too, and nothing wrong with a bit of confidence, but this looks to me like a very tough one indeed, one of the toughest matches of the season.

I think your right about Son and as superb as I think Torres is, Son’s pace against Pau’s lack of it is a concern. I was there on New Years Day though when Emery completely outsmarted Conte and although they are in a better place and playing for their manager now compared to then, the players that have made them better are all largely going to be missing. Other than Burnley we’re not really finding any away games easy, but we definitely have enough to win this. It would be handy to have Moreno and Ramsey for enough to be on the bench.

[VillaTim]

I think we win the game , they will come at us which suits us , but we do need Diaby to show up for this one

[eamonn]

4-4...we're breezing it and somehow Marlon Harewood re-emerges and helps to fcuk it up for us...

[ez]

We'll beat spurs 2-0.

[Legion]

2-0.

[PaulWinch again]

I think we win the game , they will come at us which suits us , but we do need Diaby to show up for this one

Haven’t we cut our losses with that guy yet….

[SoccerHQ]

Looking at Spurs depleted team and dip in form, anything but a win will feel a bit disappointing

Draw will be fine. They have Man. City away the following weekend while we have Bournemouth so we *should* be above them very soon.

Would be very disappointing to lose to them while they miss their entire spine that's got them off to a good start...both first choice CBs, Bissouma and Maddison is a little too much for them to cope without playing level of opposition like us.

Of course it could all change if we gift them an early goal but I think we'll just approach things as we did on NYD last season, low block first half and then step it up in second half.

1-2.

[SoccerHQ]

Yeah there's no way we should be this chipper! They're still very good, and Son is like a player grown in our arch-enemy's lab to exploit our biggest weakness. Yes, we have weapons to hurt them too, and nothing wrong with a bit of confidence, but this looks to me like a very tough one indeed, one of the toughest matches of the season.

Son was offside about 12 times in the VP game last season (although he was off form then compared to now).

In the away match he didn't do anything. They had one shot on target all game and that was with Olsen in goal.

Tell me I'm not imagining it but I'm sure we barely did any attacking that day for first half. But we scored first and then it was very comfortable so certainly the right strategy from UE given Liverpool had exposed the high line badly the game before.

[algy]

"Technically" above us!

Every club higher than us in the table is only ever "technically" above us. In every other sense of the word they are beneath us.