Tottenham-Sheffield United is a match valid for the fifth day of the Premier League and is played Saturday at 4 p.m.: TV, lineups, predictions.
The bold decision to bet on an up-and-coming coach, half-unknown to most, seems to have proved right so far.
It has been a little over a month since the Premier League began, but Ange Postecoglou, the Hellenic-born Australian coach who took a surprise seat on the Tottenham bench last July, has left everyone speechless. Or rather, his Spurs team did, looking like the distant relatives of the dismal and often losing team seen at work last year. One would have thought that the job of clearing away the “rubble” could be longer after a disastrous season that saw as many as three coaches at the team’s helm, and especially after the very painful sale of captain Harry Kane, who moved to Bayern Munich at the end of August. And instead, Postecoglou was quick to set aside the club’s recent past, showing that he understood what ills were plaguing this Tottenham side. After four days, Spurs are undefeated (one draw and three wins) and are part of that group that sits in second place behind Manchester City, still with full points. Ahead of the big matches with Arsenal and Liverpool, Son and his teammates this weekend go in search of their fourth success in a row.
Spurs are scoring in spurts
North of the English capital comes newly-promoted Sheffield United, which picked up its first point on the last day before the break, drawing 2-2 with Everton.
Ahmedhodzic and Vini Souza
Paul Heckingbottom’s Blades have no great pretensions except to maintain their category after returning to the Premier League after two years of purgatory. And the results, so far, are in line with the club’s goal. For a defense that has conceded seven goals in four games, however, it will not be easy to defuse an attack that has completely found itself thanks to the new coach’s offensive ideas and that, despite the farewell of a bomber like Kane, has so far scored 11 goals, fewer only than Brighton.
The prediction
Yes, we have to reckon with the unknown of the national team break, it is true, but the preconditions for a round victory for Tottenham, which two weeks ago already netted 5 goals against another newly promoted team, Burnley, are all there. Sheffield United will think mainly of damage control, but the numerous absences in defense (Larouci, Egan, Norrington-Davies) do not bode well. Spurs will likely score 2 to 4 goals.
The likely lineups for Tottenham-Sheffield United
- TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Pedro Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Solomon; Son.
- SHEFFIELD UNITED (3-5-2): Foderingham; Basham, Egan, Robinson; Baldock, Hamer, Vini Souza, Norwood, Thomas; Archer, McBurnie.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-0
