Five keys to Tottenham topping Wolves in the Premier League

Tottenham Defensive Keys v Wolves

We know Tottenham needs to move the ball back to front and side-to-side to try and move the Wolves defense. As it were, we should expect a very similar approach from the Wolves themselves. With Adama Traore and  Trincão as the two outside forwards, we can expect Wolverhampton to try a lot of through balls and speculative balls for the two attackers to chase.

Spurs need to keep Traore in front of them

With Traore and Trincão likely to be making diagonal runs almost every time the Wanderers manage to grab possession, the Tottenham defense has to be ready. Traore is going to run hard all day and the Spurs cannot let him get behind them.

Traore may have missed on his one-on-one opportunity with Kasper Schmeichel last weekend but Spurs should not count on him missing in a similar situation again. Rather they need to prevent those situations from occurring.

If Tottenham can work to deny Traore and Trincão the ball and keep them from getting behind the defense, they will grow frustrated. If the Spurs cannot limit their chances and give the two attackers clean opportunities on goal, it could be trouble for the Lilywhites.

Tottenham needs to compete like it is Manchester City

It is far too early to know if last Sunday against Manchester City was an aberration or something more. There were and still are a lot of reasons for Tottenham players to want to give it all and leave it all on the pitch against City on opening day as they did last week. However, over the last couple of seasons, we have seen the consistency of effort has just not been there.

Last week, Tottenham defended and tackled like old-school footballers. The Spurs ran and competed like schoolboys trying to make the varsity team. In short, the team competed as their lives depended on it, and in the end, it won the day. Heck one commenter on our site said it was the best performance since 1962.

While I do not know if was the best performance since 1962, it was certainly the best effort since maybe Amsterdam, Ajax, and the Moura miracle. What we saw was if this team competed with everything they have, they can play with one of the best teams in the world or even beat them.

Now, can that same intensity, desire, and competitive spirit be carried on to face Wolves and start to be an expectation once again? Well, that remains to be seen but what we do know is that if the Spurs compete as they did against Manchester City, they are likely to get a good result.