LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 21: Vincent Janssen of Tottenham shakes the hand of manager Mauricio Pochettino during the EFL Cup Third Round match between Tottenham Hotspur and Gillingham at White Hart Lane on September 21, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images )
The five most important matchups for Tottenham this weekend
Tottenham head to Middlesbrough this weekend in what could be a tricky fixture for Spurs. No matter how complicated it might be, the club must earn all three points from the contest.
If Spurs are going to be successful, it’s going to come down to a couple of key matchups. There are some pretty interesting battles that are going to shape up on both ends of the pitch. Don’t be fooled by Middlesbrough’s point total, they do have some serious talent on their squad.
Despite their quality, Tottenham still head into the match as prohibitive favorites. Mauricio Pochettino rested many of his starters midweek against Gillingham which should allow him to start a fresh starting XI on the weekend.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least acknowledge Tottenham’s injury elephant in the room. This will be the club’s first Premier League match without star striker Harry Kane. Expect his absence to dominate the headlines leading up to the match. Don’t sleep on these five matchups though, they’re at least as important as Kane’s absence.
MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Stewart Downing of Middlesbrough takes the ball past Phillip Bardsley of Stoke City during the Premier League match between Middlesbrough and Stoke City at Riverside Stadium on August 13, 2016 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
Victor Wanyama vs. Stewart Downing
Neither of these men are exactly headline grabbers for their squads, but they’ll be hugely important for Saturday’s match. Count on Wanyama and Downing facing off against one another repeatedly.
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Tottenham are expected to dominate the possession battle, which means Stewart Downing is going to have to really pitch in to his team’s defensive effort. Of course, he’ll also need to be ready to hit Spurs on the counter when the opportunities present themselves.
Wanyama just needs to do what he normally does. He isn’t going to magically become Messi moving forward, but he needs to make the back four’s job against Boro relatively boring. Anything he does moving forward for Tottenham is a bonus.
If either Downing or Wanyama can gain a tangible advantage over the other, they’ll put their team in an excellent situation. Tottenham have to like their advantage at this spot on the pitch.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur shoots during the warm up during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland at White Hart Lane on September 18, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Gaston Ramirez vs. Dele Alli
This is an ironic matchup to say the least. It pits one of Pochettino’s favorite midfielders against one of his least favorite players. The two men will duel against one another in the midfield on Saturday.
Candidly, I see this as a huge opportunity for Tottenham to control the match. Alli is clearly a superior player than Ramirez and he needs to dominate this matchup. He needs to torment Ramirez throughout the match.
However, if Alli nods off, Ramirez has the quality to hurt him going forward. There’s a reason he’s starting as Middlesbrough’s number ten. That reason is his attacking quality.
His defensive capabilities are laughable though. When Alli takes a run at him with the ball at his feet, Ramirez will resemble a turn style. Expect Alli to have a lot of joy on Saturday.
DERBY, ENGLAND – MARCH 17: George Friend of Middlesbrough celebrates as Patrick Bamford of Middlesbrough is congratulated by team mates behind during the Sky Bet Championship match between Derby County and Middlesbrough at iPro Stadium on March 17, 2015 in Derby, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Kyle Walker vs. George Friend
Quietly, George Friend has been one of the best left backs in the Premier League through five matches. He’s not quite Danny Rose, but his Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.28 is very impressive for a player with such a limited reputation.
Unfortunately for Friend, he’s going to have to compete against Kyle Walker this weekend. The Spurs right back has been even better through the first five matches of the season. With Tottenham enjoying long stretches of possession, he’s going to have more than his share of runs at Friend.
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For Middlesbrough to “win” this matchup, Friend just needs to avoid getting embarrassed. It’s highly unlikely he’s going to beat Walker going forward, he just needs to keep the English right back from slicing him up in his own defensive third.
That’s a pretty tall task for Friend. He’s going to need to stay calm, and stay at home if he intends to neutralize Walker in the slightest.
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 21: Vincent Janssen of Tottenham in action v’s Gillingham during the EFL Cup Third Round match between Tottenham Hotspur and Gillingham at White Hart Lane on September 21, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images )
Vincent Janssen vs. Boro centre backs
Let me be crystal clear about something right from the start. Vincent Janssen does not have to be Harry Kane to have a successful stint occupying his spot in the starting XI.
For that matter, he doesn’t even need to score to have a quality match against Middlesbrough. What he needs to do, is occupy occupying defenders in an effort to free up space for his attacking midfield.
Counterintuitively, Middlesbrough need to make sure they don’t pay too much attention to Tottenham’s backup striker. If they devote too many defenders to muscling him out of the penalty box, they’re going to suffer greatly. That would play right into Pochettino’s hands.
Spurs’ game plan will be for Janssen to tie up the opposition’s central defenders and lay the ball off to attacking runs from the midfield. It’s what the Dutch striker is best at, and clearly his teammates enjoy his service. That’ll be the measure of success for him against Boro.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 17: Alvaro Negredo of Middlesbrough celebrates scoring during the Premier League match between Everton and Middlesbrough at Goodison Park on September 17, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Lynne Cameron/Getty Images)
Alvaro Negredo vs. Spurs centre backs
I still have an awfully hard time believing that Alvaro Negredo plays for a club like Middlesbrough. No offense intended to the Premier League club, but he could play for a much more successful team.
As it is, they are quite fortunate to have him, and Tottenham will have to fight him for 90 minutes on Saturday. Spurs’ starting centre back duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen will have their hands full with the former Manchester City striker.
The good news for Spurs fans, is that Negredo should be pretty starved for service on the day. If Tottenham’s attackers are doing their job, he won’t see that much of the ball.
When he does get a touch in the Tottenham third, expect Alderweireld in particular to look to snuff it out quickly. The Belgian will use his quickness, and positioning to muscle him off the ball before he even has a chance to get comfortable.
It’s hard to imagine Middlesbrough having any joy on Saturday unless Negredo finds the back of the net. The Tottenham centre backs have to make sure that doesn’t happen.
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