|
MIDDLESBROUGH v SPURS EXPERT SUMMARY AND PREDICTION IV
Packwolf
A resurgent Spurs side full of attacking flair against a lethargic Boro
with
Fabio Rochemback in the midfield.
On paper
you
would expect the North London side to take it, particularly as they're
flying high in third and we're festering in fourteenth. Factor in the
fact
that Riggott, our best defender so far this season is suspended, which
means
that calamity Ehiogu may be recalled (the only player to have less pace
than
Riggott, which is scary in itself) and things aren't looking too great
really.
Furthermore it's a Sunday fixture after a European game and
having
only won two of our previous thirteen, what chance do we realistically have?
Well actually quite a bit. The Boro seem to raise their game against
the
top teams and there is no denying that Spurs can now consider
themselves a
big side, or at least one that (enviably) will be pushing for Europe this
season.
At the start of the season we looked at Spurs as potential
rivals
for the European positions and this will give an added incentive for
the
players to play, particularly as at the moment they are failing to get
anywhere near their pre-season League target.
Indeed if there is any
chance
we are to obtain European qualification from the League this season
then
this is a must win game and hopefully this will spur (pardon the pun)
the
players on to victory.
We also have the 2-0 humiliation at White Hart
Lane
to avenge as well. But to do this we must nullify the attacking threat
that
they pose, particularly from the midfield.
This may mean that
McClaren's
5-3-2 policy of playing both Doriva and Boateng may work in our favour
and,
if we can find a creative spark from somewhere then our strikers should
be
able to convert one of the few chances they get.
I do believe however
that,
due to our defensive frailties, Spurs will get through but I don't
think it
will be the whitewash that some of us are fearing. Remember this is a
Boro
side who have failed to keep a clean sheet in thirteen league games now.
Still, I
predict 1-1- not enough to stem the tide of mid-table mediocrity that
we are
currently embedded in but enough to at least stop fears of relegation
creeping into our minds.
And to be honest I think both sides would
take
that.
1-1.
BACK TO TOTTENHAM MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX |
|
|
|
