Fixture Focus - Spurs (1 Nov 2017)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Real Madrid FC

(Champions League Group Stages)

We are entering the second half of the Champions League group stages, now with Real Madrid coming over to Wembley, Spurs' temporary home ground.

Putting behind the loss to Manchester United over the weekend at Old Trafford, Spurs will need to regroup themselves to face one of the giants of European football. Kane, who was sorely missed during Saturday's game, has a high chance in starting this one.

Real Madrid also emerged from a weekend loss at the La Liga, downed 1-2 to Girona. With Barcelona widening the gap above them in the Spanish league, Zidane knew they have to grind a result in England to have a psychological boost.

A win for either side meant automatic entry to the Round of 16, so both sides would want to make this count.

COYS!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (17 Oct 2017)

Real Madrid FC vs Tottenham Hotspur

(Champions League Group Stages)

Spurs will be travelling away to the Santiago Bernabeu, home of Spanish giants Real Madrid. The last time these two met competitively was at the 2010/2011 Champions League season.

Pochettino would have a handful as this is a big fixture, and is likely to use big names for this one, though he should be mindful of the upcoming weekend game against Liverpool. Rose is likely to start at the bench but Alli is out due to suspension.

Spurs alumni Bale is out with an injury, so he would not be starting against his old club.

Zidane had mentioned that this is the "first group final", given that both teams have the same points and goal difference. The winning team from this game would be one step closer to the group top spot.

COYS!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (26 Sep 2017)

APOEL Nicosia vs Tottenham Hotspur

(UEFA Champions League Group Stage)

Spurs will be travelling away to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, where APOEL Nicosia is based.

Pochettino has an absentee crisis in the form of suspensions (Vertonghen and Alli) and illness (Eriksen), along with injuries (Dembele, Wanyama, Rose and Pamela), so the youngsters of the squad such as Winks will have to step up and take on the responsibility. 

APOEL Nicosia have never faced Spurs before in any game, but the Cypriot champions are no stranger to European competitions, so they may prove a worthy opponent to the visitors.

Both teams had their glory in the Champions League, in which they blazed their way to the quarter finals; Spurs in 2010-2011 and APOEL in 2011-2012.

COYS!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (7 Dec 2016)

Tottenham Hotspur vs CSKA Moscow

(Champions League Group Stage)

In this last group game, Spurs will be hosting the Russian club at Wembley Stadium. This is also the last Champions League fixture for both sides this season.

There is nothing much to play for in this game, with probably the exception of giving some players play time to chalk up experience. I foresee Pochettino would field a mix of first teamers and youngsters for this one, given that Spurs will have to meet Manchester United away this weekend.

CSKA Moscow, who probably still have the Europa League set in its sights, may try to nick this game and give us straight losses at our adopted home ground.

Spurs could qualify for the Europa League as well provided that they just draw or win the game.

Better luck next Champions League season.

COYS!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (22 Nov 2016)

AS Monaco vs Tottenham Hotspur
(Champions League Group Stage)

This evening's Champions League will see Spurs making the trip to the Stade Louis II, Monaco's home ground.

Although it is not really a do-or-die situation yet, but tonight's result at Monaco coupled with the other group game's outcome between Bayer and CSKA Moscow may spell our early exit. Spurs' latest victory against West Ham may bring some winning momentum back.

Monaco just required a point to secure their entry to the next round, but they may not be taking chances and likely going for the win.

All the best to us, COYS!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (2 Nov 2016)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen

(Champions League Group Stage)

For this 4th game of the group stage, Spurs will be hosting Bayer at the Wembley Stadium.

Spurs have been without a victory since the win against Manchester City in early October. Pochettino would have to rouse his team to get back on track, especially so with the North London Derby looming over the weekend. Kane and Alderweireld are out of the lineup.

This would be one of the rare, if not unique, moments for Bayer to play in the Wembley Stadium. No doubt their prolific scorer Hernandez would want to create history on this ground for this Champions League game.

COYS!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (18 Oct 2016)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Tottenham Hotspur

(Champions League Group Stage)

For the third group game, Spurs will be travelling to BayArena, home of German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.

Pochettino would want to keep the momentum going for Spurs, even though they were held to a draw by WBA over the weekend despite dominating that game. Son is likely in the lineup, and this fixture is sort of a homecoming for him since he left Bayer a year ago to join us.

Leverkusen has an ace up its sleeves - ex-Manchester United Hernandez, who had helped them scored 4 goals in the last 5 games.

This would be an interesting game to watch.

COYS!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (14 Sep 2016)

Tottenham Hotspur vs AS Monaco FC

(UEFA Champions League Group Stage, Game 1)

After 6 long years, Spurs is now back in the UEFA Champions League, and the first game of the competition will be up against Monaco, who are currently top of the French Ligue 1.

The good news is Dembele is available for this game, and we may be able to see new signing Sissoko debuting as well (2 Moussas on the field....OK bad joke). Rose is still out from the injury sustained during the international break.

Monaco is currently doing well in Ligue 1, at the top of the table with 3 wins and 1 draw. This is a different Monaco from the one that we met back in the Europa League group stage last season, so expect some tough competition.

One thing to point out is that this game would be in played in Wembley (yes, Wembley, that big stadium), due to the construction work that is going on in the Lane.

COYS! 

"Les grandes equipes! The Champions!!!!"

Midweek Outlook (22 Nov 2011)

   Manchester United vs Benfica  

Memories are the ManCity mauling is still fresh in my mind but it seems that the ManUtd team has long dusted themselves off and carried on with business.

ManUtd then came through with 5 clean-sheet victories as if nothing happened but it must be noted that all the wins were of tiny margins, with the exception of Aldershot. Then again, it's Aldershot. A 3-0 win is considered a small win for us.

This is a very important match for either side as a victory here awards the winning team the luxury of easing off the pedal on final match day of the first round. A victory today not only guarantees qualification to the knock-out stages but very much also assures the top spot of the table. The extra rest will be a much sought-after gift in the midst of the hectic domestic schedule.

Looking ahead, ManUtd has a relatively easy though still hectic Christmas/New Year fixture. Every extra ounce of rest gives us an advantage over ManCity and this would be the best time to make up the 5-point deficit or more.

Vidic will not be featuring today which means Ferdinand needs a partner at the back. Also looking for a partner up from is Rooney, whom despite being missing from training is expected to get on the pitch. Fergie just announced that he still has plans for Berbatov, despite the Bulgarian falling down the pecking order, which may be a hint to start him today.

Now, on to the betting portion of the game. ManUtd is giving a 1-ball handicap and a 2.05 decimal odds to beat it. 1X2 says a less enthusiastic story with a 1.52 payout for a home victory.

In English, it means that while it is impossible (figuratively speaking) for Benfica to bag the 3 points today, there is a chance they may just nick one instead.

The punters so far are more optimistic in favour of the home side with the pot skewing 83% to beat the 1-ball handicap.

My take on the situation is that ManUtd should win this game but again like the previous few results, it would be a small victory. Give the 1-ball handicap which the worst case scenario is that you get your money back since a Benfica draw or win is unlikely.

JayWalk's 2011/2012 Track Record to-date (22 Nov 2011) : P79-W49-L30

- Voxeros

Midweek Outlook (22 Oct 2011)

Manchester United vs Otelul Galati

We finally opened account in the ECL with an important away win over Galati with 2 Rooney penalties. Not exactly a very convincing story but a precious 3-point haul nevertheless.

That puts us in second place with 5 points before Benfica and if Benfica beats Basel, then they have the 10 points required to qualify to the next round. A victory this round to us is a do-or-die mission and I am going to assume that we will win it.

If we beat Galati 2-0 away, we should beat them 2-0 at home too or more. On that count, we will have 8 points and just as long as we avoid defeat to both Basel and Benfica subsequently, we would qualify too. However, would Fergie settle for second place and risk placing a seeded team early in the second round?

A win over Benfica at Old Trafford on 22 Nov should see us leap frogging with 11 points to Benfica's 10 and knowing Fergie, we will push full steam ahead and grab the final 3 points against Basel just to ensure we finish Round 1 at the top.

Gone is the luxury that we rake in the points early and then cruise the remainder of the final 2 games in Round 1 to allow us to prepare for the hectic Christmas/New Year fixtures.

So the question today is not if we win Galati but if we beat them by 3 goals more or not.

Asian Handicap sets ManUtd at 2.05 to beat the 2.25-ball handicap. 1X2 says ManUtd wins this outright with a 1.09 payout.

The current jackpot sits at ManUtd having 82% of the pot to beat the handicap.

As for me, I'd say yes we will collect the 3-points to keep up with Benfica whom they are expected to beat Basel.

As to if we beat the handicap, I'd say a nay as I feel the current squad is out of sorts at the moment and not exactly very cohesive to be the steam rolling juggernaut that gave us so much to cheer about.

JayWalk's 2011/2012 Track Record to-date (01 Nov 2011) : P64-W41-L23

- Voxeros

Midweek Outlook (27 Sep 2011)

   Manchester United vs FC Basel   

Is it just a coincidence or did we drop points simply because Wayne Rooney did not play?

Our winning streak came to an end with a 1-1 draw against unlikely Stoke City. It was only mere weeks ago that we kicked aside the likes of ManCity, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs, then suddenly this weekend we can't get past Stoke?

The dark clouds are looming as our list of injuries suddenly exploded before anyone can finish spelling the name Hargreaves. Rooney is out alongside with Hernandez. We'd be missing Evans, Smalling, Vidic, Rafael, Cleverly and Gibson.

Granted that we usually play our B-team for mid-week fixtures, I'd thought perhaps Fergie would like to open the 3-point account in the ECL, by upping the fire power department a few notches here.

So.

We are in the first round of the ECL where 10 points out of a total of 18 is all we need to advance. Still, I'd rather get the 10 points early than leave it till the wire.

Squad-wise for today should see Lindegaard manning the sticks while we have a choice of Macheda, Bubba, Welbeck and recently in-form Owen to deploy up front. We should see the old guards taking center stage. Giggs and Park should take on the flanks while wait..... has anyone seen Carrick? Paging for Mr Carrick!! Young may get another game following a good showing at Stoke which will mark his ECL debut if he gets onto the pitch today. Oh and yes, do save a spot for Valencia too.

Bookies are making ManUtd give a 1.75 ball handicap at 1.875 to clear it. 1X2 says ManUtd to win it at 1.18. The wager pot is skewed towards ManUtd at 82% to 18%.

Looks like everybody is expecting a Swiss Spanking tonight.

How is this so with a B-team, you may ask? Well, the answer lies in the fact that while Basel come into this tournament as Swiss champion, they are having a disastrous start to the new season currently languishing in fourth.

With a lousy form coming into the Theatre of Dreams is like sheep being herded into the slaughterhouse. A two-goal victory should be something achievable to us relatively easy today.

Fergie further added that he wishes to secure the subsequent 9 points starting with today's game so that we can ease off the pedal two games ahead to prepare for the Christmas/New Year fixture jam.

Good call.

JayWalk's 2011/2012 Track Record to-date (27 Sep 2011) : P34-W20-L14

- Voxeros

Midweek Outlook (14 Sep 2011)

   Benfica vs Manchester United  

A hello to one and all as I make my season's debut of covering midweek games.

ManUtd has had a leisurely stroll in the opening month of the season banging in 21 goals in the last 5 games and all hail the next gen army of the Red Half. I have to admit that it took me quite a while to acclimatise to the new season as there were more unfamiliar faces than usual.

Everything seems to go our way which was a sharp contrast to last season where we played so badly that we won the Premier League title only because the rest played worse than us. In short, we didn't earn the title, it was given to us.  Not much pride there, is there?

Interesting with only the span of just a single summer, we came out guns ablazed and sitting atop the league table without even a bead of sweat. Rooney is already 1/3 of the way to clinching this season's Golden Boot at this rate and we only played 4 games!

So anyway, with the season honeymoon over, we are entering the hectic months proper with both the ECL and the Carling Cup tournament kicking off at the same time.

Our first game in the European arena is against Benfica who finished second in Portugal last season and has qualified to the ECL proper after overcoming Twente in the CLQ stages.

Momentum-wise, Benfica has the advantage as they started off the European arena blocks earlier than us but that should be easily countered by our fresher legs.

Traditionally, ManUtd opens their European season well but with a Chelsea game looming over the weekend immediately after, I am thinking Fergie may rest some of the youngsters who have done so well so far, in favour of experience.

Rafael, Cleverly are definitely not featuring, joining the injured Vidic at the sideline. I am so glad I do not have to mentioned Hargreaves still in the sick bay anymore. Good riddance!

I am expecting to see Fletcher, Carrick and Ferdinand up on the pitch for this game.

Our goalie De Gea is still a worry for me but Fergie should favour Lindegaard this round as he further evaluates the two of his new acquisitions.

ManUtd is giving up 1/2-ball to Benfica with a 1.925 (vs 1.975) decimal odds to beat it. On the 1X2, A Benfica win has a bigger payout then even a draw. The last time Benfica beat us at their home was way back in Dec 2005 where we left our foot off the gas pedal for a bit.

I am going for a ManUtd win and giving up the 1/2-ball handicap to the host. We shouldn't have too much problem with Chelsea thereafter as Torres is proving more of a burden than a charm at Stamford Bridge. They must be so regretting their purchase right now which is just fine with us coz Torres would have done a lot more damage against us had he stayed at Anfield.

Once that is out of the way too, we travel to Elland Road to face Leeds in the Carling Cup opener which we are expected to field out B-team.

JayWalk's 2011/2012 Track Record to-date (13 Sep 2011) : P25-W15-L10

- Voxeros

Fixture Focus - Spurs (13 April 2011)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Real Madrid Club de Fútbol

(Champions League Quarter Final, 2nd Leg)

It was a night to forget at the Bernabeu where we were thrashed 4-0 (2 incidentally by an ex-gooner who was on loan from a team with whom we are fighting for 4th this season) and got 1 man sent off. And now the fight has been brought to our home front.

Let's start off with the visitors first. Mourinho is returning to London with caution on his mind. Though the Los Galacticos were 4-0 up, he is still wary of a Spurs comeback. With Barcelona coming up in the next 2 consecutive games (La Liga and Copa del Rey) and possibly as a Champions League opponent, Mourinho will probably try to minimise damage from us and play a defensive game. He has Ronaldo fully fit and ready, Benzema coming back from injury and Kaka found his groove back. That's a potent combo our porous defence need to deal with.

Spurs will be without suspended Crouch, so my guess is we will go for a traditional 4-4-2. The probable line-up would be - Gomes - Assou-Ekotto, Gallas, Dawson, Corluka - Bale, Sandro/Huddlestone, Van der Vaart/Modric, Lennon - Defoe, Pavlyuchenko. We missed 1 flying wing in the Bernabeu, and with no game in the weekend, I would say Lennon would be ready and available.

Will our dream end here, or will a miracle happen? Enjoy while it still lasts.

COYS!!!!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (5 Apr 2011)

Real Madrid Club de Futbol vs Tottenham Hotspur
(Champions League Quarter Finals, 1st Leg)

This Tuesday, we will be travelling to one of the famous stadiums in Spain – the Santiago Bernabeu, home of our next Champions League opponent, Real Madrid. Throughout our European campaign, this will be our first La Liga opposition.

Defensively, Spurs is literally down and out. We are reduced to just 2 central defenders, Dawson and Bassong, who featured in the game against Wigan just 2 days before. In our middle, however, we have some good news in the form of Bale and Lennon, whom the latter had just featured as a substitute at the DW Stadium, along with Modric, Van der Vaart and Sandro, but Pienaar is ruled out. Huddlestone had just returned from fitness and I foresee that he will be at the bench.

Real Madrid will be without Benzema, Marcelo and “fancy-foot” Ronaldo, (heard the latest news that CR7 will eventually start against us). For sure that Higuain will play, as well as ex-Chelsea man Carvalho, who will have the task to stop Crouch, a likely starter. Over the weekend, Real had lost to Sporting Gijon, which marked the “Special One’s” first home defeat in 9 years.

After a slew of horrendous showing against the 3 teams from the bottom of the EPL (which ironically, all began with the letter “W”), it is time to pick ourselves up again. I believe this is it (although I may sound a bit delusional here).

COYS!!!!!

Fixture Focus–Spurs (Champions League, 9 March 2011)

Tottenham Hotspur vs A.C Milan   

The round of 16 is only at half time for both teams.  Spurs hold a slender but important 1 goal advantage in this tie.  And now the boys will need to complete the job by drawing or winning out at the Lane.

AC Milan will not have the services of Gennaro Gattuso as he is suspended after the head butting incident with Joe Jordan.  First choice midfielders midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini are also not available.  Yet confidence is high as they came off a 1-0 victory over Juventus to stay 5 points clear at the top of Serie A.

Spurs should have Rafael van der Vaart and Gareth Bale back after injuries and Kaboul could be available as well.  But after Wolves exposed the defensive frailties over the weekend, we can only hope that we will do much better against an all out attack from Milan.  That said, we have been solid at home against Europe’s best and I am counting on that trend to continue.  Proceeding to the Round of 8 would be absolutely wonderful.

COYS!!!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (15 Feb 2011)

Associazione Calcio Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur
(UEFA Champions League, Round of 16, 1st Leg)

Today, our lads will be travelling to the San Siro again, but this time facing the red-black half of the city of Milan.

This will be an entire different Milan-based team from the one that we faced a few months ago.

For this game, I will begin with our opponents first.

Sitting pretty at the top of the Serie A on a 10-match unbeaten run, AC Milan could prove to be our toughest opponent yet. They even bought a series of good players such as van Bommel (whom Redknapp admitted that we should have signed for), Cassano, Emanuelson, etc. The good thing is, these players are all cup-tied. Still, the Rossoneri could pack a punch up front against us, especially with the likes of Robinho, Pato and Ibrahimovic as their strike-triumvirate. Notable absences for them would be the defender Zambrotta, midfielder Pirlo, captain Ambrosini and our ex-guy Boateng.

Spurs will be going in without our San Siro talisman Bale (back) and Modric (recovering from appendicitis surgery), though the latter is on the trip. With key players rested from the Sunderland game, Redknapp will likely field Lennon and Van der Vaart in the midfield, along with Sandro and Palacios (Jenas is suspended), and maybe we might see Krancjar, who had saved our past 2 games, sneaking in a place. Defence wise, we have Dawson, Gallas (provided he wear the correct boots this time), Hutton/Corluka and Assou-Ekotto. With a 4-4-1-1 combo, up front would either be Defoe/Pavlyuchenko/Crouch, but the latter is having a bit of a back problem and might sit on the bench.

For this game, I would like to invoke the "Spirit of '72", where in the inaugural UEFA Cup we knocked AC Milan out of the semi-finals and proceed on to win the cup.

COYS!!!!!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (7 Dec 2010)

FC Twente vs Tottenham Hotspur

(UEFA Champions League Group Stage)

We are through to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, and the next game determines whether we will top the group (and be part of the seeded pot for the next draw).

We will travel to the city of Enschede, home of last season's Eredivisie champions. We had knocked them 4-1 back at the Lane a couple of months ago, and FC Twente will be relishing revenge at their home turf of De Grolsch Veste, with nothing to play for but pride.

Our lineup has taken a tremendous blow since the Liverpool game, with Kaboul and Van der Vaart adding to our long list of injured players. Possible starters (likely 4-4-2) would be Gomes at the goal mouth, Assou-Ekotto, Gallas, Bassong and Hutton at the back, Bale, Palacios, Modric and Lennon at midfield, and Defoe/Pavlyuchenko and Crouch up front. Dawson, though unused in the Birmingham game, might appear in this game.

FC Twente will be without their striker Ruiz and leftback Kuiper, but they have virtually everyone starting from their first team.

Expect a crunch match, and a grand finale game to the group stages.

COYS!!!!!

*Champions League hymn playing*

Fixture Focus - Spurs (24 Nov 2010)

Tottenham Hotspur vs SV Werder Bremen
(UEFA Champions League, Group Stage)

With one of the greatest comebacks of the season against our neighbours last Saturday, Spurs will be entering the crucial Champions League game against Werder Bremen later on today on a high. A win for us will seal us a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League, and with it, comes greater glory and of course, happy days.

For the Spurs lineup, starting from the front would be likely Defoe and Crouch. The back four would be the current staple of Assou-Ekotto, Hutton, Kaboul and Gallas, who recently had been given the captaincy of the team. Our midfield, however, had suffered a blow (in fact, two) with Van der Vaart and Bale doubtful for the game, which I would think the stop gap combination would be Modric, Lennon, Jenas and maybe Palacios. Gomes will likely start between the posts as well.

Werder Bremen had an unhappy season so far, with no wins in their past Bundesliga games, and they are coming to the Lane with injury woes of their own, not to mention the remoteness of a chance to the next round. However, we would still go into the game with caution, especially so that they still have a myriad of good players such as Marin, Wesley and Fritz, who is tasked to stop Bale, if the latter is fit.

A Spurs victory is certain, and just hope no one left a banana skin on the pitch when the game starts.

COYS!!!!!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (2 Nov 2010)

Tottenham Hotspur vs FC Internazionale Milano
(UEFA Champions League Group Stage)

Forget about what Clattenberg did to us. Forget about what Nani did to us. Forget about why we did not play to the whistle. Heck, let us forget about what had happened to us at Old Trafford a few days ago.

Today is the day, that we welcome the current European club champions to our sacred turf. And we really, really have to give our best in this fixture, in order to silence our critics that said we are just a "one-hit wonder" to be in the top 4.

Contrary to our earlier scare, we will definitely see our new signing Van Der Vaart starting, along with just-recovered Huddlestone. Bale will be there to continue his "thorn on Inter's side" role, and probably we may see Modric and possibly Lennon starting. The only regular out would be Gomes (suspension) and Cudicini would be covering him.

Inter Milan is starting without their first choice keeper Cesar, which means Castellazzi would deputise. Maicon and Lucio, though doubtful, may be able to start. Bentiez would definitely position his players to prevent another Bale-gate happening (if he can).

A little daydream - if we win 2-0 against Inter, we would top the table. :)

Come on you Spurs!!!!!

Fixture Focus - Spurs (20 Oct 2010)

FC Internazionale Milano vs Tottenham Hotspur

(UEFA Champions League Group Stage)

A lot had crossed my mind when I was thinking of what to write for this fixture. First of all, there was a sense of thrill - we will be facing the European club champions in less than 48 hours. After all, when we are in the Champions League, playing with teams like Inter Milan is just another day at the office.

The next thing is that of apprehension. They are the champions, and we are playing at their sacred turf called San Siro, with a seating capacity of more than 2 times of White Hart Lane's. Even if you are a neutral spectator, you could feel the atmosphere of their home crowd, and I guess our players would feel the same, too.

Spurs would be travelling to Milan without playmaker Van der Vaart, who is serving suspension due to the red card against him from FC Twente game. King is out for this game after the injury at Craven Cottage, but we would have our usual midefield stalwarts available. The question remains whether Keane will be starting against his old club, or would he be moved over in favour of Crouch and Pavlyuchenko. Either way, Keane and Crouch would be facing their old boss, Rafael Benitez.

On the other side, we have the famous Sneijder, Eto'o, Maicon, Cesar.....and the list of superstars go on. Though they are the champions, the man behind them is no longer the same.

Many pundits are going for a draw game, with a possibility of a Spurs loss. However, the ball is round, and their manager was an ex-manager of Liverpool (remember last season?), anything is possible.

COYS!!!!!