Tottenham Must Deploy Battering Ram Against Millwall

There’s not much of a guessing game around how Millwall will play against Tottenham when the League One side come to White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Like so many lower league teams before them that have taken on superior Premier League sides, Millwall will sit deep against Tottenham and hope for their chances on the break.

As it happens, Millwall’s path to the FA Cup quarterfinals featured two wins against Premier League sides. The Lions beat Watford 1-0 in January before besting reigning champions Leicester City by an identical scoreline a month later.

In those matches, Millwall managed 38 and 35 percent possession respectively. Their opponents doubled their total accurate passes in both encounters.

Despite those less than encouraging stats, Millwall actually outshot both teams with 12 accurate attempts on goal total.

Tottenham, then, can expect a particularly efficient version of a classic lower league cup strategy. Millwall know how to limit their opponents’ chances while making the absolute most of their limited time on the ball.

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The eye-rollingly obvious aim for Tottenham here is to score early. Stubborn defenses are only effective insofar that they don’t need to come out of their shell. The more time Millwall need a goal, the better the chances of Spurs adding to their lead.

Millwall, of course, will know this as well as Spurs. Breaking them down in the opening quarter of an hour will be a priority.

To that end, we can expect to see Mauricio Pochettino deploy all of his formidable attack on Sunday. Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen will be on hand to pick apart Millwall’s layered defense.

Though there are few footballers out there you could rely on more to score, there is a serious risk of overconfidence. Many times before has this Spurs side found itself suddenly vulnerable after switching off after a lead.

Spurs’ failure to turn matters around against Gent in the Europa League perhaps serves as the most recent best example. Eriksen scored in the 10th minute to level the tie, only for a Kane own-goal to give the visitors a lead they would not relinquish.

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The 3-2 win over Everton just last week suggests that Tottenham didn’t full learn their lesson either. After Dele scored in stoppage time to make it 3-1, the team switched off almost immediately and Everton pinged one back.

Tottenham’s objective Sunday then is twofold: batter down Millwall early, but don’t take victory for granted.