BOURNEMOUTH – TOTTENHAM | Saturday 4pm
Tottenham could have approached this league match with the serenity of those who know they have qualification for the round of 16 of the Champions League already in their pockets. But due to a controversial decision by the Var system, which cancelled out captain Kane’s 2-1 goal in the second half of Wednesday’s match against Sporting, everything has been postponed until next week, with Spurs almost obliged to win at Marseille in order to celebrate their passage to the round and secure first place in the group. There is therefore a serious risk that Antonio Conte, furious at the incident that robbed him of the three points with the Portuguese, could take the game with the Cherries lightly.
The coach from Salento, like his men, is not going through an easy time. A few too many absences (Richarlison, Kulusevski) seem to have compromised the path of the London team, just back from the double defeat in the Premier League against Manchester United and Newcastle. Conte, punctured for the first time even by some fans, in addition to being angry with the referees, admitted the downturn without any problems. In any case, Spurs remain third in the standings, but the summit occupied by Arsenal – who have played an extra game – is five lengths away and behind, Kane and his teammates are now breathing down the necks of Chelsea and Manchester United. Lady Luck also seems to have turned her back on Bournemouth, who have returned to losing two matches in a row after a couple of months.
Last Monday in the post-match against West Ham (2-0) there was no shortage of controversy from Gary O’Neil’s Rossoneri, who objected to Zouma’s momentary 1-0 goal, which they claimed was vitiated by an obvious foul on Kehrer’s hand. The Cherries have thirteen points after twelve matches, four more than third-last-placed Leeds. And against Tottenham they will most likely be without centre-forward Solanke, who is heavily in doubt.
Solanke, Bournemouth striker
The Prediction
Bournemouth in front of their home crowd have so far lost two out of six games but, more importantly, they have conceded only five goals, a far lower number than the number of away goals they have conceded, a staggering twenty. A sign that it will not be easy for Tottenham, who are struggling with some offensive problems, to beat the Cherries. Victory should still come in the end, but we anticipate a low-scoring match, bearing in mind Conte’s likely turnover ahead of Marseille.
Bournemouth-Tottenham’s likely line-up
- BOURNEMOUTH (4-4-2): Travers; Smith, Mepham, Senesi, Zemura; Christie, Cook, Lerma, Tavernier; Billing, Moore.
- TOTTENHAM (3-4-3): Lloris; Romero, Dier, Lenglet; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Gil, Kane, Son.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-1
