Squawka
·27 December 2024
Squawka
·27 December 2024
Tottenham Hotspur were thrashed 6-3 by Liverpool a week ago and there was little to cheer about on Boxing Day, too, as they were beaten 1-0 at in-form Nottingham Forest.
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Forster; Porro, Gray, Bissouma, Udogie; Bentancur, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Solanke
Wolves (4-3-3): Sa; T Gomes, Bueno, Doherty; Semedo, J Gomes, Andre, Ait-Nouri; Guedes, Strand Larsen, Cunha
Spurs next face a Wolves side who have won both of their matches under new boss Vitor Pereira and who will be full of confidence for this trip to north London for their Premier League clash which kicks off at 3pm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
It’s three wins in their last 12 matches for Tottenham who are in the midst of an injury crisis. Meanwhile, Wolves have lifted themselves out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 win at Leicester City and a stunning 2-0 home victory over Manchester United on Boxing Day.
Ange Postecoglu suggested Tottenham will dip into the transfer market in a bid to ease their injury crisis but insisted in his press conference that they won’t buy anyone for the sake of it.
Postecoglou said: “We have a clearer picture of where we are at. I still think we have to be disciplined [in the transfer market]. It is not just a case of bringing anybody in, but there is certainly a need for us to try to reinforce if we can.
“Obviously, January is not an easy time to do that but the club is working hard behind the scenes to see what we can do to just help the players we have got at the moment, who are giving everything in every game and dipping into every bit of energy they have to try to get us through.”
Paris Saint-Germain’s Milan Skriniar has already been linked with a January move with Newcastle United and Galatasaray both keen, although Spurs have been added to the mix given their obvious defensive concerns.
Wolves are not without worry themselves as star forward Matheus Cunha is being monitored by Arsenal, according to reports.
The in-form Brazilian has bagged 10 goals for the Old Gold this season, including the opener at Manchester United in a run which has seen him score in each of his last three outings for Wanderers.
Tottenham boss Postecoglu said he has “never experienced anything like this” in terms of the amount of injured players his side has, in his press conference on Friday. And it is a remarkable situation the Spurs boss finds himself in.
Radu Dragusin became the latest casualty this week with the Romanian picking up an ankle injury in the 1-0 loss at Forest on Boxing Day, that makes him a major doubt for Sunday’s home clash with revitalised Wolves.
That could leave Postecoglu with no fit senior centre backs as Christian Romero, Micky van der Ven and Ben Davies are already on the sidelines with no immediate returns likely.
Archie Gray will likely continue to deputise at centre back and midfielder Yves Bissouma could join him in the centre of defence after he slotted into that position following Dragusin’s withdrawal from the action on Thursday.
Fraser Forster will continue between the sticks with first-choice keeper Guglielmo Vicario still ruled out. And Djed Spence is suspended.
Wolves are in much better health and new boss Vitor Pereira is unlikely to make too many changes following wins over Leicester and Manchester United in his two games since taking over.
The Man United game came too soon for Mario Lemina who should return to the squad for this trip to Spurs, Hwang Hee-chan will be pushing for a start after coming off the bench to score Wolves’ second goal at Old Trafford.
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