Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Fixture Focus - Spurs (27 October 2009)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton
Life as a Spurs fan is like being on a roller coaster ride in the dark. There will be times of euphoria as you rise to the top, and then the proverbial slide down to another reality, and the cycle continues. The weekend defeat at home by Stoke is a classic example of us not expecting the slide down to earth.

And when it rains, it pours. 'arry has a number of injuries to contend with as he prepares for Tuesday night's Carling Cup clash against Everton. Jonathan Woodgate (head injury) and Aaron Lennon (ankle) have joined a missing list that already included Ledley King (illness/knee), Luka Modric (fractured fibula) and Giovani dos Santos (ankle). Add to that striker Jermain Defoe, who serves the second of his three-match suspension and Niko Kranjcar, who is cup-tied having played in the competition for Portsmouth.

I am not sure why our road to cup finals are always peppered with Premier League opponents and this 4th round tie is no different. Everton are no push overs but they also have their share of challenges. Coming off a tough loss to Bolton over the weekend, the Toffees also still have key players out due to injuries. Long-term absentees Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar remain sidelined with their respective knee injuries but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Johnny Heitinga, Leighton Baines and Yakubu are hoping to be fit after each missed all or part of the Bolton match.

Moyes has "hinted" that he may have to play an even more weakened side for this match given his team's hectic schedule and that may pave the way for names like Kieran Agard, Jose Baxter and Hope Akpan to start.

I can see that squad selection may not be easy as Redknapp has one eye on Saturday's derby at arch-rivals Arsenal. As reported, he might give fringe players a chance to play so plan on seeing the likes of Pavlyuchenko, Bale, Bentley and Hutton in the starting 11. Nevertheless, our boys have to find it within themselves to bounce back after a tough loss to Stoke and get the "W" tonight.

COYS!


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