Spurs’ Mason and Bentaleb Could be Fit for Liverpool
By Ryan Wrenn
London’s Evening Standard reports that there’s a distinct possibility that Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb could be fit for Spurs’ home match against Liverpool Saturday.
This is beyond welcome news for a couple reasons. Before the knee injury Mason suffered in scoring the winning goal against Sunderland he was lining up to be one of Spurs more impressive performers so far this season. In only four starts he’d gone some way to redeeming himself after an unbalanced debut for Spurs last term. He’d be a welcome sight back in lilywhites.
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It’s hard to muster the same enthusiasm for Bentaleb’s return. His reputation among fans has yet to recover from his performance on the opening day against Manchester United. By the standards he himself had set since his promotion to the Spurs first team, it was close to disastrous. He seemed lacking in confidence and competence, misplacing key passes and generally dragging an otherwise impressive Spurs side down. This was not the type of performance the club or fans expected from a player that in many ways embodied the future of the club.
He consequently lost his starting position for the next two Premier League games, returning only when Christian Eriksen’s injury forced Mason into a more advanced midfield position against Everton. That proved fortuitous: Everton’s narrow style was considerable blunted by pairing Bentaleb alongside Eric Dier. The Algerian international performed well enough there to suggest that perhaps he was reclaiming some of that old form and thus was reclaiming a place in the starting XI. Unfortunately, an injury sustained in training cut that optimism short.
The pair’s timely return together could mean that Pochettino fields the both of them for the first time since last season. While they were not without fault in central midfield, they were among the more consistent parts of Pochettino’s freshman season with Spurs. Meant to play as a double pivot, their contrasting styles usually meant that Bentaleb was caught out in midfield as Mason left far too much space behind him in his forays forward. The imbalance opened up many opportunities for the opposition and is rightly seen as one of Spurs most vulnerable areas last term.
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Mason has already suggested that he’s reformed a bit from that swashbuckling style this season, sitting deeper when appropriate and assisting with defending when Spurs are out of possession. That’s encouraging, but it still doesn’t address the primary problem coming into Saturday’s match against Liverpool.
That issue, of course, is Eric Dier. His yellow card against Swansea just before the international break means he’s suspended from playing against Liverpool. The converted defensive midfielder has been a cornerstone of this Spurs side in literally every match played this season. His absence will be a palpable.
Unless, of course, Bentaleb can perform. If he’s fit enough to start he’ll presumably take over the defensive midfield duties from Dier. Considering how vital that role has been in Spurs’ immensely improved defense this season, it will be no easy ask to thrust Bentaleb back into the side right after injury. If he can turn in a passing performance it could lessen Spurs stress over finding adequate cover for Dier in January. If he shades toward the type of player that showed up against Manchester United, Spurs could be in for a long day.
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