WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 05: Chris Brunt of West Brom is challenged by Eric Lamels of Tottenham during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur at the Hawthorns on December 5, 2015 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Tottenham vs. West Brom: 5 talking points
WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 05: Chris Brunt of West Brom is challenged by Eric Lamels of Tottenham during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur at the Hawthorns on December 5, 2015 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Tottenham and West Ham collide Monday in a huge match for Spurs’ title aspirations
Tottenham being forced to wait until Monday to play against West Brom is almost cruel for Spurs fans. No doubt Mauricio Pochettino and company would have preferred to play sooner given their hammering of Stoke. Nonetheless, Tottenham have to wait until Monday to continue their recent run of form.
While Tottenham have everything at stake in the match, West Brom may not have much at all to play for. The Baggies have achieved safety already and don’t have any opportunity to achieve European qualification. There’s no question that Spurs have more at stake Monday.
Still, you can’t discount Tony Pulis’ squad doing their best to ruin Tottenham’s title dreams. Officials at West Brom would be delighted to deal a fatal blow to their opponents’ title chances. Pulis in particular, will be keen to get the better of the much ballyhooed Pochettino.
All in all there are enough story lines to make for a cracking match on Monday. No matter what Leicester City does today, it’s going to be a match that attracts the eyes of all Premier League fans on Monday afternoon. Read on to discover the match’s five biggest talking points in advance of the potentially captivating affair.
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<p>Pulis’ side will have to take serious notice of just how good Spurs have been as of late. The goals have been flowing like wine for Tottenham and Pulis will want his defense to serve as prohibition. The question is whether or not WBA have enough quality to deal with the quantity and quality of Spurs’ attackers.</p>
<p>West Brom’s hope will be that Tottenham comes into the match flying too high as a result of their good form. There’s always the chance that Spurs players will enter the match overconfident, or perhaps looking ahead to next week’s clash with Chelsea. Any lack of concentration on behalf of Tottenham could be fatal for their title hopes.</p>
<p>If Tottenham are going to win this match they just need to keep their feet on the ground. They must walk the fine line between approaching the match with supreme confidence while not crossing into overconfidence. You can bet that Pochettino is preaching that to his squad in the pre-match buildup.</p>
<div class="next-post amp-get-next-post lg slider"><a class="location" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-post-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/04/24/tottenham-vs-west-brom-5-talking-points/"#"><span class="next amp-next-post-teaser">Next: </span><span class="amp-get-next-post">Will Tony Pulis park the bus?</span></a></div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_410328" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – APRIL 09: Tony Pulis manager of West Bromwich Albion gestures during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad Stadium on April 9, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Will Tony Pulis park the bus?</h3>
<p>Pulis has allowed his West Brom side to play more attacking football this season, but they aren’t exactly Barcelona in terms of their team set up. There’s no question that Pulis will set his side up with a strong defense, the only question is whether or not he’ll decide to completely park the bus.</p>
<p>If I were Pulis, that would be my strategy. If they can keep Tottenham off the score sheet early in the match, the pressure will begin to mount on Spurs because they need all three points. A draw would be a severe blow for Pochettino’s squad. Spurs are certain to go all out to try to win the match.</p>
<p>Catching Spurs on the break may very well be West Brom’s best attacking strategy. They aren’t likely to see a ton of the ball against a Tottenham side that thrives in possession, so it makes sense for West Brom to set up to soak up their pressure.</p>
<p>Ironically, Pulis could very well look to set his team up much like Claudio Ranieri did Leicester against Spurs. What an ironic twist of fate it would be to see Tottenham’s title hopes torpedoed by a team that’s copying Leicester’s style of play.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 21: Saido Berahino of West Bromwich Albion says a prayer prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates Stadium, on April 21, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/WBA FC via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Saido Berahino is the X factor</h3>
<p>The talented English striker has been a rumored target for Tottenham over the past several transfer windows, but he’s still plying his trade for Tony Pulis. The two haven’t seen eye to eye very often in their time together, but he’s looked increasingly dangerous over the past several weeks.</p>
<p>That may very well be because Berahino is finally fully fit, but he’s looked a much more energetic player over the past several matches. Spurs will need to be very aware of where he is on the pitch if he does get the start. He’s a perfect threat to hit Tottenham on the counter attack.</p>
<p>West Brom Chairman Jeremy Peace will be desperate to see Berahino deal a blow to Tottenham. He and Daniel Levy entered into very tense transfer negotiations over the player this summer, and there’s no love lost between the pair. Relations have improved with the loan move of Alex Pritchard, but Peace would still be delighted to see Berahino stick it to Levy one last time.</p>
<p>In truth, Berahino also has the ability to give Spurs a huge advantage in this match up. If he isn’t completely locked in on the day than it could allow Tottenham to press the Baggies into oblivion. In many ways, Berahino’s attitude and work rate could go a long way towards determining how close this match is.</p>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-408516" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/04/24/tottenham-vs-west-brom-5-talking-points/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_393,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F03%2F514762332-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-590x900.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="393" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/514762332-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-590x900.jpg 590w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/514762332-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-300x600.jpg 300w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/03/514762332-uefa-europa-league-borussia-dortmund-v-tottenham-hotspur-768x0.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">(L-R) Nacer Chadli of Tottenham Hotspur FC, Lukasz Piszczek of Borussia Dortmund during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 match between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur on March 10, 2016 at the Signal Iduna Park stadium in Dortmund, Germany.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Will Tottenham need their bench?</h3>
<p>Lost in the wonderful run of form Tottenham have been on is the fact that their bench has really struggled to provide any help to Pochettino’s squad. If this match remains close late, there’s a huge question mark about whether or not Pochettino has enough firepower outside his starting 11 to make a difference.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>You have to feel that Spurs are going to need a sub to score a key goal in at least one match down the stretch. Unfortunately, the likes of Nacer Chadli and Son Heung-Min haven’t looked very dangerous as of late. In fact, Pochettino has played his starters almost exclusively over the past several matches.</p>
<p>As I’ve stated previously, West Brom need to do everything they can to keep this match level for as long as possible. If they can put Tottenham into a position where they need to press for the game late, the pressure could be Spurs’ undoing. If they give up an early goal or two to Spurs, it could lead to an avalanche of offense that the Baggies just can’t match.</p>
<p>This may not be the match when Pochettino needs something from his reserves, but that day is coming for Tottenham. Spurs fans have to hope that Chadli, Son, or perhaps even Clinton N’Jie, will be ready when their number is called.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 10 : Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at White Hart Lane on April 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Christian Eriksen is the Tottenham key</h3>
<p>If, as expected, Pulis parks the bus to any degree, then it’s going to be up to Christian Eriksen to unlock the Baggies’ defense. He’s the Spurs midfielder with the best ability to hammer West Brom with an incisive pass or perhaps, a devastating free kick.</p>
<p>If you haven’t watched Spurs play much as of late, you may not realize that their recent run of form has coincided with an uptick in Eriksen’s play. He’s really seeing the entire pitch as of late and is unlocking space for the rest of the Spurs’ attackers with his beautiful passing.</p>
<p>He’s going to be the man who finds himself on the ball the most when West Brom chooses to put all of its outfield players behind the ball. It may come down to one moment of quality from the Danish maestro to pull Spurs through.</p>
<p>On the flip side, West Brom should do everything they can to make someone else beat them with skill. It’s not that Tottenham doesn’t have other players capable of that sort of quality, it’s just that most of their other attackers create chances with will and athleticism. Eriksen is the one man who does it consistently with artistic skill.</p>
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<p>Eriksen is the one man I’d focus on if the match gets bogged down. It may take one moment of brilliance from the midfielder to keep Spurs’ title dreams alive.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
