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MIDDLESBROUGH v SPURS EXPERT SUMMARY AND PREDICTION I
James Bassett
Boro's 1-0 win against Spurs on the penultimate weekend of last season
was
perhaps our most important victory of the whole campaign. However,
Spurs
went into the game having thrashed Aston Villa 5-1 the previous
weekend, and
they'll be similarly confident this time around.
Spurs have won three
in a
row and Mido and Robbie Keane are proving to be an excellent
partnership.
In addition, Jermaine Defoe - should he get a game - will be desperate
to
prove Martin Jol wrong for dropping him.
At the back, Michael Dawson and Ledley King are beginning to look like
an
excellent pairing. Both are exceptionally good in the air and it'll be
hard
for Yakubu and his strike partner to win many headers. The onus then
is
on Fabio Rochemback to finally prove his class and supply a steady
stream of
balls to feet for the frontmen, especially if Steve McClaren lines his
team
up the same way he did against Liverpool.
Having said that, I would anticipate Boro to line up in a more
traditional
4-4-2, with Schwarzer obviously in goal and Bates, Ehiogu, Southgate
and
Pogatetz lining up at the back. I would imagine that Morrison,
Rochemback,
Boateng and Queudrue will play in midfield and Yakubu and Viduka will
begin
up front.
Despite losing 2-0 at White Hart Lane, Boro did cause Spurs
immense trouble with this formation and the good chances afforded to
Stewart
Downing and George Boateng should really have been converted. There's
certainly joy to be had for James Morrison if he plays wide right as
Young-Pyo Lee doesn't appear to be a particularly adept defender.
In central midfield, the battle between Davids and Boateng is
mouth-watering
and Boro will need Rochemback to play the ball as intelligently as
Michael
Carrick has been for Spurs. Carrick's passing, however, is not matched
by
his marking abilities and should the Rochemback or Boateng feel the
urge to
break forward, there will almost certainly be space for them to attack.
With this in mind, I'm predicting a 1-0 win for Boro with Rochemback to
finally break his duck.
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