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Tottenham Hotspur Links: Alex Pritchard Close to Full-fitness, Staying with Spurs

By Alexander Balano

Jul 23, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino on the sidelines against Toronto FC at BMO Field. Tottenham defeated Toronto 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 23, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino on the sidelines against Toronto FC at BMO Field. Tottenham defeated Toronto 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here’s another Tottenham Hotspur Links to glance at.

For the latest Tottenham Hotspur Links, Hotspur HQ will be looking at three stories once again. First up is how Alex Pritchard is doing in his recovery process and when he can rejoin the squad to play. Next, Eric Dier believes that Spurs’ current mentality which has seen the Lilywhites end the year of 2015 on a good note, hopes that it could carry over into 2016. And finally, on Tottenham’s official website, they’ve listed interesting facts and stats regarding their FA Cup history. Time to scroll down and read the synopsis of these links.

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According to Sky Sports, Alex Pritchard is set to begin training next week and will remain with Tottenham. Spurs’ manager, Mauricio Pochettino, is not going to let Pritchard, Harry Winks and Kevin Wimmer leave during the winter transfer window as the new year is a crucial part in the season when Spurs will be competing in three different competitions: the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup.

Quick notes on Winks and Wimmer being wanted by numerous clubs on loan deals:

  • Kevin Wimmer — “wanted back in Germany” (no clubs on this Sky Sports article)
  • Harry Winks — Blackburn Rovers, Bristol City, MK Dons

And now back to Alex Pritchard. So how early can the 22-year-old return to the 18-man matchday squad? The earliest would be against Sunderland at White Hart Lane on January 16.

The matchup against the Black Cats would be a perfect time to bring Pritchard back as Tottenham will be playing their third and final game in a six day span. With two games against Leicester City in the FA Cup third round tie on January 10th and in the Premier League on January 13th, it’s safe to say that Tottenham will need to rotate their lineups in their FA Cup match and again against Sunderland.

With the Black Cats sitting in 19th place in the league table — assuming that they don’t climb out of the relegation zone before they face Spurs — it would be hard to see Mauricio Pochettino push all or a majority of his first-team players to play 180 minutes on two days of rest before playing again.

Ahead of Tottenham’s first fixture in a two-game series against Leciester City in two different competitions, Eric Dier talked about how Spurs can still improve their game but are doing so in a quiet manner. Meaning they’re not getting carried away because of where they’re currently at position-wise.

That level-headed mentality has helped produce a good first half during the 2015-16 Premier League season and the defensive midfielder is hoping that it will carry over into the second half to close out the year on a high note.

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“We’re just quietly going about our business – we’re a very young squad but we’re not getting carried away,” Dier said.

“As a team and as individuals we can still improve a lot, but we’re an ambitious group and in football you never know what’s going to happen.”

“When it comes down to it, we’ve got to beat every team – we have to go into every game, home or away, looking to win.”

“In the dressing room at the moment we have that mentality so things are looking up. We just need to keep this mentality where we think we can go to any ground and win. As well as that, we’ll look to keep working hard as we’ve been doing to try to get as high up the table as possible.”

Despite drawing again against Everton at Goodison Park on January 3rd, Tottenham can take solace in the fact that they fought hard to equalize before half-time. As well as keep the Premier League’s third best offense and one of the most in-form strikers, at the moment, at bay.

Tottenham will be matching up against Leicester City in the FA Cup third round on January 10. With the fixture three days away, Tottenham’s official website put out some interesting facts and stats regarding their current history in England’s most prestigious cup competition.

Here are some of the more notable ones to point out:

  • First FA Cup run — Spurs’ first FA Cup run happened during the 1894-95 season (the FA Cup was founded in 1871 and first held during the 1871-72 season)
  • First FA Cup win — Tottenham won 3-2 against West Herts on October 13, 1894
  • First third round tie — The Lilywhites’ first third round tie was on February 25, 1899 against Stoke City in a 4-1 loss
  • First third round tie win — 3-0 at Reading on March 28, 1901 (it was Spurs’ first third round replay after the initial tie ended 1-1)
  • Tottenham wins the FA Cup — During the 1900-01 season, Tottenham would lift the FA Cup and become the first — and still only — non-league team to win the competition
  • Record unbeaten run — Tottenham won 16 third round matches, including replays, between 1979-1989 that also included back-to-back FA Cup wins in 1981 and 1982
  • Third round unbeaten streak at home — Spurs have won 15 third round ties at White Hart Lane since 1992 (16 games if the match against Marlow is included which was played at White Hart Lane in 1993)

All things considered, with how Leicester City has done this season, this upcoming third round FA Cup tie at White Hart Lane won’t be easy. Of course, Claudio Ranieri could opt to rotate a majority of his starters to focus on the big picture which is the Premier League and make it easier for Tottenham. But then again, the same thing could be said about Mauricio Pochettino.

Except, Pochettino rotated a portion of his lineup including central defense and goalkeeper to a disastrous result against bitter north London rivals, Arsenal. Now when looking at which teams have made it into the semi-finals of this year’s League Cup: Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City and Stoke City. Tottenham can match up with all four and give them all a tough time to pull of a win or draw.

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The point being is this. Spurs are looking to continue their climb up the Premier League table and finish in the top four. But a bad outing in the League Cup might make Mauricio Pochettino reconsider from starting another sub-par lineup and actually do better in the FA Cup.

The end result might be a win into the next round, but it might hurt Spurs’ chances slightly at maintaining their fourth place position right now. Overall, this means that the FA Cup and Premier League fixtures against Leicester in a span of three days will be interesting.

If only to see who Mauricio Pochettino selects and if he’s serious about going far in the only remaining domestic cup competition. Because trying to do well in the Premiership, in Europe and the FA Cup will be a tall task to do with a team who has barely rotated that much this season.