Tottenham v Middlesbrough Matchday Preview
By Ryan Wrenn
Tottenham welcome Middlesbrough to White Hart Lane for Saturday’s late game in a match that Mauricio Pochettino will be anxious to put to bed early.
Since finally being able to get both Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld into the same team in December after injury spells, Tottenham look genuine title contenders. Only their two recent draws against Manchester City and Sunderland blemish that record.
It will be that Sunderland draw that sticks most stubbornly sticks in Pochettino’s craw. David Moyes’ side were bottom when Spurs showed up on Tuesday with seemingly more injured than healthy players. Yet they managed to deny the likes of Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen through 90 minutes.
If Sunderland could put together that effort with spare parts, Middlesbrough will justifiably find their hopes buoyed.
Aitor Karanka can’t be too thrilled with fighting relegation in their first season in the Premier League, but he can hardly blame his defense. As we discussed in our opposition scout preview on Friday, Boro own the best defensive record of the bottom 12 teams in the league. Indeed they have conceded two less goals than both Liverpool and Manchester City.
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That said, Tottenham’s home record is formidable. They are unbeaten in eleven matches, having suffered only two draws.
On the road, Middlesbrough are about as bad as Tottenham are good at home. After a 2-1 win at Sunderland in August, Boro have failed to earn all three points away from Riverside Stadium.
Worryingly for Tottenham, most of those winless results were in fact draws. With margins so thin in the race to keep within spitting distance of Chelsea, a draw might be almost as bad as a loss for Spurs.
Pochettino’s efforts to assure all three points are complicated, as they have for most of the season, by injury. Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose — two players who would easily start otherwise — are out on the day.
They each have like-for-like replacements available, but their unique skillsets make it difficult for Spurs to play their best game on Saturday.
That best game is inarguably the one that allows Tottenham to play in the 3-4-2-1 formation. It’s in that shape that they secured their current second place position, including in a win over Chelsea in January.
Without Vertonghen and Rose, however, it’s much more difficult to take to the pitch in that shape. Kevin Wimmer, Vertonghen’s understudy, is a liability on the pitch at the moment, especially in an unfamiliar formaiton. Ben Davies is a fine substitute for Danny Rose, but the Welshman lacks the pace that makes the 3-4-2-1 formation tick.
Check out our lineup predictor for a more detailed look at who starts for Spurs and where on Saturday.
Next: Mauricio Pochettino Press Conference: Tottenham v Middlesbrough
Pochettino might have one eye on the trip to Liverpool next weekend, but really it’s matches like these that make the difference on the season. Tottenham need to be able to beat teams like these, especially on weekends when their main rivals face similarly winnable matches.