Swansea preview and expected line-up - 04/10/2015

Unbeaten since the opener, Spurs go into their 8th game of the season craving a win to continue their fine form, off the back of a 4-1 demolition of title favourites Manchester City.

The Opponents

Swansea are not in the best of form at the moment, with 1 win from their last 5 in all competitions. After beating Man United at the Liberty, they have gone 4 games without a win and have exited the Capital One Cup in the process to Championship opponents Hull City. They have also been defeated by Southampton and Watford, and have drawn with Everton. The Swans will be desperate to find their feet with a convincing win against us on Sunday.


Tottenham

Coming straight off of a 1-1 draw in Monaco in a game we really should’ve won, Mauricio Pochettino and his team will be hoping for another win to continue the fine form we’ve been in all over the park.
Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela have been the standout performers in recent weeks, and I’m confident they will do the business again on Sunday.
At the Liberty though, solidity at the back is key. With Andre Ayew, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bafetimbi Gomis, on their day Swansea are a force to be reckoned with, capable of beating any top team. That is why we must be on the ball from the first minute to the last, playing the game in their half and wary of the counter attack.
Although with our newly found solid defence, and quality protection from Eric Dier, I’m not too worried in that sense.
My biggest worry is that Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane are both yet to find consistent form, and that means we’ll have to find goals elsewhere, which is never a guarantee.

Last season’s results vs Swansea
H : Tottenham 3-2 Swansea
A : Swansea 1-2 Tottenham

Swansea’s likely line up:
Fabianski, Naughton Fernandez Williams Taylor, Cork Shelvey, Ayew Sigurdsson Montero, Gomis

My preferred Spurs line up:
Lloris, Walker Alderweireld Vertonghen Davies, Alli Dier, Lamela Eriksen Chadli, Kane

My prediction: Swansea 1-2 Tottenham
I’m going for a 2-1 victory for us. Swansea are a strong enough side on their day, but they’re in bad form, and we’ve conceded the joint least goals in the entire league. In the Premier League, stats can’t predict results, but I think 2 goals will be enough for us to get all 3 points at the Liberty on Sunday. If we go out and play our game in front of their fans, I’m confident.

Come on you Spurs!

 

I would not change the defense, Davis to start. Vertongen is at his best with Davis.

 

With Chelsea again remarkably dropping more points the possibility of conceivably breaking into the top four would require us to go to places like Swansea and getting some sort of a result if not all 3 points on offer. Son will be a big miss with his pace lacking if chadli is picked as expected. Chadli for me offers nothing in behind the back four so I would opt for Townsend or
Njie to start and maintain the style of football that served well v city.

 

Tomorrow is all about the points. I would happily forego our defensive record to win 8-7 tomorrow than to draw 0-0! I have an inkling Son won't be missed as Alli ought to be pushed further forwards - very similar players. Dembele to partner Dier, if fit.
Lamela to score and Spurs to win would be my bet.

Lloris, Rose, Verts, Alderweireld, Walker, Dembele, Dier, Eriksen, Alli, Lamela, Kane.

Very fluid front four!

 

Agree the team selection in general but Rose got battered on Thursday and played 90 mins so it will surely be Davies to start on the left. Real shame Son not available but now it needs to be 'Harry Time'. COYS!

 

Hope so josh. Montero v walker and sygi v dier key battles. Possibly play rose wide left?

 

I agree. Winning here tomorrow and at more mid table teams (from 9th and below) are crucial. Every year we marginally miss out and it's results like this that cost us. Hopefully tomorrow we go out there and win every battle and be the better footballing side, if so then we can only push on from there! Come on you Spurs!

I like Dembele a lot but I don't think he fits the new system if I'm honest. Alli and Dier in the heart of midfield are the main part to our winning formula, and Chadli played very well on Thursday night. Chadli also has the ability to pop up with a goal in any situation and that's an attribute we can't dismiss. As for our defensive record, keeping tight at the back is how we will get the points. As long as we get the points I really don't mind!

100%, Rose a very fit player so I think he could play twice in a week (as footballers nowadays really should be able to do!!) but I think after hearing about his hand injury being more serious than initially expected, I'd start Davies. As for Son, I think Chadli will fill that spot nicely and N'Jie off the bench will add the pace if needed! Come on you Spurs!

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say Walker is one of the hardest players in the world to beat 1 on 1 as a winger, lapses of concentration and the fact that when its not his day he's a massive liability let him down. As for Dier, it will be tough for him with 3 very good interchangeable players for him to have to keep tabs on at all times, but the way he's playing I wouldn't bet against him! Hard work from Alli needed, needs to be a proper box to box midfielder tomorrow. I trust them though, come on you spurs!

 

I believe Dembele is still injured which is a shame. He was playing great. The only player who does not deserve to start is Eriksen. He has been AWFUL. It is like he is untouchable for criticism. He is absolutely gutless when it comes to any physical challenge he will get out of the way. A 50-50 challenge becomes 70-30 for the opposition. He pretends to try and pressure the other guy but never ever actually puts a foot in. Chadli is also chicken and they are a major problem for us. Thank god Dier and Alli have got stuck in to make up for those two embarrassing excuses for a man. Eriksen was the worst player on the pitch against Monaco bye a mile and against City he was absolutely a joke. Quit the automatic love affair and wake up, he is weak link. If we didnt have some of the injuries I would hope Poch would park him on the bench. COYS !!

 

Erikson started last season the same way , anonymous for first 7 or 8 games then ended it exactly the same , another 7 or 8 games of nothing .. Thats nearly half a season .. Now there's no denying his ability and vision when he,s on song and things are happening for him but he's coming across as a bit of a light weight .. He's got to pick it up and maintain it a lot more then he has so far .. For sure others get slated for a lot less ..

 

Rose is unfortunately out so Davies to start in Wales.

 

We have to follow up last weeks performance with another convincing display, we need momentum and consistency if we are ever to achieve anything in the league there's no point in bossing Citeh if we can't then take it to other lesser sides.
Poch has had plenty of time to get his 'philosophy' up and running its time to start delivering the football he promised on a more frequent basis.

 

You were sayin ?

 

Well today is game no 8 and as i stated above clearly , there's nobody doubting his ability , its his consistency thats the problem ... As you've stated many times on this forum Mr Felon , if you cant understand English , it ain't really my problem ... lol ... Somehow i reckon you agree with that post anyway ... While we don't agree on a lot of things , we usually agree on most things when it comes down to the actual games .... Usually .... lol ..

 

Im just jokin with you mate, curse of the commentator haha

 

I've been known to curse many a thing down through the years , will have a crack at some one else before the next game .. Lol ..
p45 for Rodgers , it was coming for a while though ... Mad game sometimes , who could have predicted the highs and lows he's been through over the last 2 or 3 years ... He couldn't half talk sh1t though , suppose he'd fit right in around here ...... Then again we prob don't need another supreme optimist ... lol ....

 

I don't think many players can keep up the consistency all year and Eriksen is no different, although personally I think a lot of his work rate goes unnoticed and he does get back and puts in a shift, anyone who says he goes missing is probably going a bit missing themselves. I think he will have another good year without the pressure and expectation of being our only real playmaker and creative outlet, but agree with others that he cant play every game.

 

As I've said a million times before , football fans have very short memories , .... Thanks Notnats your post backs up exactly what we were saying that some players get a lot easier ride off the fans then others ...

 

I think most of us who actually watch the games call it as we see it, however, I do agree to a point that at times some players seem to get an easier ride, player like Bentaleb come to mind who in my opinion is as mediocre as they come and then when he does put in a decent performance he gets undue praise for nothing more than decent, a player that never makes significant contribution.
A stat from last year about Eriksen and his phenomenal work rate that I also mentioned at the time where he is listed as covering the second most ground in the league, about 210 miles. This is a player that puts in a massive shift in midfield defence but rarely gets acknowledged unless he is scoring or creating match winners which he also does regularly. Obviously if others in the team put in the same work rate as Christian he wouldn't need to drop back and could focus more on his creativity and playmaking duties. So far this year we seem to have a better balance in the middle with Dier and Alli also putting in. Unfortunatly the massive efforts put in from Eriksen last year took their toll with fatigue which is why I don't think he can play every game. interestingly the only other Spurs player close to Eriksen last year was Kane who came in at third place who is also a major contender for burnout and hasn't been able to replicate last years form just yet.
While I might agree that some players on occasion get an easy ride Christian Eriksen is not one of them and is often criticised unfairly when in fact he's worked his socks off without any real support. Equally a lot of fans who haven't even seen the game get on the bandwagon of criticising players as going missing because they cant score the winner every week. Eriksen is class.