This afternoon, at the lesser spotted 17:35 GMT kick off slot, Tottenham Hotspur will face Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round spotter. After being knocked out of the other domestic cup on Thursday evening, this really feels like a do or die game. The toxic atmosphere with a loss would be off the charts.
How both sides line up for this do or die tie in the FA Cup fourth round
For this big game, Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou has opted for a line up of; Kisnky; Porro, Danso, Gray, Spence; Kulusevski, Bentancur, Bergvall; Moore, Tel, Son.
Although he has looked shattered, looking forward to seeing Kulusevski in midfield linking up with the likes of Tel and Moore. Good to see Bergvall back in the line up too.
The bench reads as; Austin, Forster, Davies, Reguilon, Hardy, Cassanova, Bissouma, Sarr, Ajaji. For anybody wondering, Dane Scarlett is cup tied, having featured in the previous round for Oxford United.
Meanwhile, Villa manager Unai Emery has opted for a line up of; Martinez; Garcia, Konsa, Kamara, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Bailey, Ramsey, Rogers, Malen. A very attacking side, with no defensive midfielder to put out fires, as he, in Kamara – is having to play at centre-back, which got exposed in their defeat at Wolves last time out.
That said, it is a strong side, with a lot of pace and attacking options that could hurt Spurs. Fortunately, Ollie Watkins is absent from the squad entirely. The likes of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford are amongst the substitutes.
Just simply cannot be overstated how important this game is. Absolutely massive. Imagine the mood if Spurs are dumped out of two competitions in a week. Nothing is going to matter in the Premier League, which would leave just the Europa League left.
With the shape the likes of Athletic Club and Lazio are in, that competition will be very hard too, particularly when it comes to the former – with the final being in Bilbao. This is so important.
Said it a few times now, but the fact Spurs had a slog at Liverpool on Thursday night, before travelling back down to London and then up to the Midlands, whilst their hosts have had the week off and no travelling, is a big concern, particularly in the second half of the game – or, maybe even extra-time.
With Liverpool - the only team to beat Spurs in the Carabao Cup - being knocked out of the FA Cup, as well as a nearby team in the third round, this is a big opportunity. Let's see.