Tottenham’s High-Press Containing Premier League Opposition

Regardless of the formation or opponent, Tottenham’s defense is difficult to breakdown in the Premier League this season.

After seven matches played in the Premier League, Tottenham have the best defense in the top-flight division, in terms of goals allowed.

To concede three goals only, which is impressive in of itself, looks even better since all three goals have come off of set pieces and not in open play.

Spurs have a dominate defense for the second consecutive season because they have done a good job of containing their opponents and forcing them to turn the ball over frequently.

Teams who faced Tottenham in these past two months have exhibited a lower average passing accuracy when compared to facing other teams in the Premier League.

Mauricio Pochettino’s high-press system coupled with the players on Spurs’ squad who are all willing to press relentlessly and try to win the ball back quickly are the two key factors for why teams struggle to breakdown Spurs’ defense.

Below is a table of how Spurs have effectively limited teams from doing much of anything and why Spurs have only conceded three goals after seven games.

(table via Daily Mail)

Interestingly enough, Pochettino’s high-press system this season has been used in three different formations based on certain opponents and because of injuries.

Games against Everton, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Stoke City and Sunderland featured a 4-2-3-1 formation. Against Middlesbrough it was a 4-3-3. This past Sunday, Pochettino went with a 4-1-4-1 formation to take down Manchester City.

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Losing Harry Kane, Eric Dier and Mousa Dembélé to injuries forced Mauricio Pochettino to line up in a different system to account for the loss of three starters.

Despite a change in formation, Tottenham still dominated their opponents by containing them.

Their average passing accuracy fell when they faced Spurs compared to playing against other teams in the Premier League.

The table above shows that all seven teams’ averages fell by quite a bit. Home or away, opponents struggled mightily while some managed.

Here’s a quick round-up of the differences from all of the passing averages that Tottenham’s opponents had following their game with the North London club.

Passing accuracy difference against Spurs (%)

• Liverpool – 9.51
• Manchester City – 5.35
• Everton – 8.91
• Middlesbrough – 6.79
• Crystal Palace – 4.56
• Stoke City – 2.76
• Sunderland – 8.49

What all of these numbers show from both tables is that Tottenham have effectively limited teams from enjoying possession of the ball. Having a high percent of possession doesn’t mean much by itself if teams aren’t in the attacking third looking to score.

With that being said, without the ball it makes things more difficult to create scoring chances. Something that Mauricio Pochettino’s side have done very well.

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Now although Tottenham are the only unbeaten team left in the Premier League, lowering teams’ average passing accuracy below their standards didn’t exactly translate to wins on two different occasions.

Against Everton and Liverpool, both Merseyside clubs managed to turn the ball over at an alarming rate but were able to take an early lead. Spurs earned two draws in the end but like any number crunching data, sometimes these things don’t exactly tell the whole story.

It at least shows that when teams face Tottenham, they’ll be in a battle to not only score goals but to come away with a win.