Preview of Tottenham vs West Bromwich Albion on Sunday

Players to Watch

It is difficult to say who on the Baggies may have really settled in during all this player movement. Regardless of who plays striker whether it be Diagne or Snodgrass, settled or not, they should be better than Karlan Grant who has really struggled to find the goal this season for West Brom. After scoring 19 goals last season in the Championship for Huddersfileld, that form has not translated for Grant. With this in mind, do no be surprised to see one or even both of the new signings, as Grant has had a run.

Matheus Pereira is the player Tottenham need to stop

Matheus Pereira is one of the main reasons West Brom are even in the Premier League this season, as he was fantastic in the Championship last season. Pereira only scored five goals, but he assisted on a league leading 16 goals last season. Three more than Jed Wallace’s 13 at Millwall.

For Pereira the assists have not fully translated yet as he only has three, but he does already have the same five goals he did last season. That five is also three more than anyone on the Baggies team has. With Pereira predominantly a right winger, expect Ben Davies to have his hands full with the young Brazilian.

Tottenham need a few players to show up as leaders

While Harry Kane has become both the primary scorer and the primary playmaker for Tottenham this season, he is not the team’s only leader. There are several other leaders in the squad, or at least there should be and Spurs need those leaders to step up.

First, in the back-end, it is time for Hugo Lloris to show he has not lost either the ability or the will to command his box. Far, far too many crosses are allowed to find heads within punching or grabbing range of Lloris in the goal. Additionally, as the team captain, when he sees defenders making mistakes he has to speak up and hold them accountable.

Remember that guy who chased Heung-Min Son off the field, where has he gone and can we have him back please?

Speaking of Son, he is another player who needs to step up. Okay so Harry Kane is out but Spurs still have Son Heung-Min who – on key – is better than 90% of the attackers in the world. Is Son not the three-time Asian footballer of the year?

Tottenham need to see more activity on and off the ball both from Son on Sunday. When Lucas Moura came into the game and dribbled at the Chelsea defense with pace it was like the first time anyone had the entire game. Dribbling at people with pace used to be a huge part of Son’s game – remember goal of the year anyone? Spurs need Son to wake up out of his funk and play like a superstar.

Speaking of superstars, it seemed Spurs had a new one earlier this season, but Pierre Højbjerg’s influence has waned of late. We have already written about what Højbjerg needs to do in terms of positioning and play but he also needs to lead by example. That means not going down easily from crap tackles and serving as the starting point for the attack and counter, not the middle or end point.

Pierre Højbjerg on song, like Son, can dominate a football match, Tottenham, especially the beleaguered defense could use that domination.