As Tottenham Hotspur and new Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo travel to face Santo’s old Wolverhampton Wanders side, what should the Spurs expect?
Although Tottenham Hotspur had a defeat midweek in Europe – as a heavily rotated side fell in Portugal – the Spurs and Wolves could not have had more different starts to their seasons. Tottenham played defending Champions Manchester City, benefitting from some player absences and beat the champs 1-0. Wolverhampton went on the road to Leicester City and despite outshooting the Foxes 17-9 the Wolves fell 1-0. Regardless of how things went last week, this week is another opportunity for three points for both sides, so what should Tottenham expect from the Wolves?
New coach different philosophy?
Sometimes when a new manager comes in, you see immediate differences in a squad. With Tottenham Hotspur, there is a clear uptick in both fitness and aggression this season compared to the last under Jose Mourinho. For the Wolves, however, after four years under Santo, the changes from Bruno Lage to the side are much more subtle.
Lage made his name as a manager in Portugal, leading Benfica to two cup victories in two seasons with the team. However, unlike Santo who is only making changes at Tottenham following about 18 months of Mourinho, the Wolves were under Santo for four seasons, thus Lage has not made wholesale changes.
Granted it was on the road against a good Leicester City side, but the Wolves played the same aggressive, counter-attacking style they did under Santo. More significantly they played the same basic shape with a 3-4-3 formation against the Foxes.
The formation is particularly significant as Bruno Lage prefers to play with four in the back. Such is Lage’s preference for a back four, in 74 matches as Benfica manager he never once played with a back three, according to transfermrkt.com. Back three or four, who are the players to watch for Wolves?
Wolves players for Spurs to watch
Some of the reasoning is likely the difficulty in switching the team after so many seasons with a back three. The other factor is the plethora of injuries facing Wolverhampton to start the season. It is likely the Wanderers are short no fewer than six players on Sunday, including several major contributors from last season like Jonny, Willy Boly, Pedro Neto, and Daniel Podence.
Despite all the injuries, the Wolves hung tough against Leicester City to start the season. If not for some poor finishing, only three of 17 attempts were on target, the Wolves probably would have won the match. Only a beautiful goal from Jamie Vardy took all three points for the Foxes. While the Wolves may be beaten up they have a solid front three.
Tottenham need to keep an eye on the front three
Wolves have a front three that on their day can rival almost any in the league. Raul Jimenez is coming back from a horrific head injury but played the full 90 last week and managed three shots. One can only assume that as the Mexican striker gets more comfortable and confident back on the field he is going to get better.
Jimenez is the player that really connects the two wings with short dribbles and quick touches in tight spaces. His ability as a poacher will be critical for the Wolves and Spurs will want to always keep a body on him.
Whereas Jimenez is the skillful playmaker in the middle of the attacking line, Adama Traore is the bull waiting to run through Spurs China shop. Traore nearly had two goals in the first week against Leicester. He split their backline with ease on a through ball but failed to hit the target. Later in the match, Traore muscled his way through Jannik Vestergaard but his side-footed volley was straight at Schmeichel.
Traore has been linked with Tottenham this summer at different points and everyone knows he brings real pace and power. Davinson Sanchez is going to have his hands full, as will Eric Dier – who are the two likely starters in the middle of the back.
The good news with both Jimenez and Traore is that they are known commodities to the Spurs defense but the third attacker for Wolves Francisco Trincão is not. Trincão is a 21-year-old Portuguese winger who is on loan – with an option to buy – from Barcelona.
Trincão only got 1,300 minutes last season with Barcelona but he appeared 41 times for the club scoring three goals and adding two assists. One of the players available due to the financial situation at Barcelona, Trincão will allow Traore to switch back and forth between the right and left and help keep Tottenham off balance.
Expect Tottenham to give as good as they get
While the Wolves have a dynamic frontline, so too does Tottenham Hotspur – with or without Harry Kane. We should expect Spurs to continue to run with Steven Bergwijn, Heung-Min Son, and Lucas Moura at the top of their attack.
Jamie Vardy and Leicester had success attacking Wolves at the edges and then getting services into the box. Last season this would have potentially been a recipe for disaster for Tottenham, but it should behoove the Spurs this season. With both Boly and Jonny out, expect Tottenham to try and attack Wolves on their left, much as they did against Manchester City.
If Japhet Tanganga can be as aggressive against the Wolves forwards as he was against City’s, Tottenham can push Wolves deep and dominate the match. Ultimately, maintaining good possession and looking to pin Wolves deep is the best bet for Tottenham. Do that and they can win like last season.