Them. Them away…

WHY?

v Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Predicted line-up, subs and outcome:

(Number correct from the starting line-up in the last game: 11/11).

It’s a 5^th-place Premier League side away from home so we should see a strong cup side put out by our manager tonight…

A very fluid 4-1-4-1 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-5-1:

____________________Alvarez____________________

 

 

Doku______________________________________Bobb

______________________________Foden___________

____________Silva______________________________

 

_____________________Rodri_____________________

Gvardiol__________________________________Walker

_____________Ake______________Dias_____________

 

 

_____________________Ortega_____________________

Subs: Ederson, Gomez, Lewis, Stones, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Nunes, Grealish & Hamilton.

It’s a domestic cup game and, therefore, Stefan starts in goal.

There are a few options / possibilities at the back but I’m going for Josko, Nathan, Ruben & Kyle as our back-line protectors.

Rodders to sit in front of those and ahead of the Spaniard, I’m going for an attacking quartet of Jeremy, Barnardo, Phil & Oscar. I could be a little off there but that’s what my guess is.

Julian ‘up top’.

Ederson has recovered from a minor leg issue and acts as reserve stopper; Sergio, Rico and a returning John are the defenders on the side. Mateo, Kevin & Matheus are the midfielders in ‘the 9’ waiting for their opportunity, while Jack & Micah provide wide options from the bench.

Notable absences:

-       Manuel Akanji – Still out injured following a heavy knock in the last round. There was no news on a possible return date.

-     Erling Haaland – Close to a return from injury but not quite ready for this one, we were told yesterday afternoon.

Do I agree with Pep’s (predicted) line-up?

Yeah, looks good that.

Result? I have to admit then when I heard the draw for the 4^th round, both my head and my heart sank just a little bit. Them. Them away, I thought. 😒

“Them away” because, of course, not only have we yet to win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but we have failed to avoid defeat in our five visits there and haven’t even register a single goal! 😮 Regular readers might also recall that I have a childhood ‘thing’ about these too because, for me, a pivotal moment as a 9-year-old was when we lost to this lot in the 1981 FA Cup Final replay 3-2. It both broke my heart but also made me a Blue for sure; knowing that if that defeat hurt so much it was my destiny to follow & support them…as soon as I was old enough and had the money, that is. 😁

I know we’ve beaten them at home a number of times under our current manager – and have also been beaten BY them at home too in recent years – but…there’s just something about them most of the time whenever we come up against ‘em, regardless of who their manager may be. It’s both baffling and irritating at the same time. I’m not saying for one moment that we have a divine right to beat these or ANYONE and if Tottenham have deserved past victories then absolutely fair enough. But, huhhhh…WHY them?

I will also admit that, the first time I bumped into a Manyoo-supporting friend in my local after the 4^th-round draw was made, I threw my hands up and said, in a rare moment of pessimism, “I’m writing us off now in the fourth round”. I even went as far as to say to him that Timo, needs-10-shots-to-score-one-goal, Werner is likely to get a hattrick against us. God I must have been in a grumpy mood that day… 🤪

I’ve calmed down since then.

Kev’s back, the squad have had a decent rest; they’ve been for some warm-weather training and we have a second, important player back in tonight’s squad following injury. ⛅

All of a sudden, it seems more like ‘zippidy do-da’ than ‘doom & gloom’.

Of course it’s gonna be tough – it nearly always is for us at Spurs, whatever ground we’re talking about; past or present. But if we do-indeed pick a strong cup side good enough to face a Premier League team away from home – even one with a crackin’ track record against us at N17 - then I think we’ll [finally] win one.

That’s what I’m going for – City to progress to the 5^th round.

Last season’s, corresponding pre-match prediction and result:

Prediction: N/A

Result: N/A

Expected weather conditions during the game: After what has seemed like a relentless battering from Mother Nature…some calm. Clear skies lead to temperatures dropping to around 4C and a thankfully-light, westerly breeze might just make it feel closer to zero. But wrap up properly and it should feel like a proper F.A. Cup match between two sides who have a good history in this competition (15 final wins between them). It’s just a shame for travelling City fans that the authorities have decided it’s absolutely fine for returning away fans to get home [to Manchester] about 2:00am; after some of them will-have-had-to-have-also taken time off work to get there… 😠

Solidarity