Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Tottenham are without Hugo Lloris for the trip to Fiorentina, the French International injured his shoulder in the final minute of their victory over Manchester City on Sunday. It was his desperate touch of the ball to take it away from Nicolas Otamendi and a near certain equaliser but that heroics has come at a cost with Lloris now set to miss the next two matches.
Understudy Michel Vorm will come in and he won’t be the only change as Mauricio Pochettino will look to refresh the starting lineup what with Tottenham currently competing on 3 fronts. Squad management and player rotation is going to be key if The North London club are going to reap any rewards for all their efforts so far this season.
It won’t be easy against Fiorentina but Spurs will be looking for revenge after getting knocked out by this side in last season’s edition of the tournament. Spurs fans may remember that this is the game which all bu finished Roberto Soldado’s career at the club after he fluffed the easiest of one on ones when it seemed harder not to put the ball in the net.
Fiorentina currently find themselves third in Serie A but some 8 points off of leaders Juventus. The Florence side are seemingly in a 3 way battle for the last Champions League spot with Roma and Inter Milan. This game also takes on extra importance in terms of UEFA co-efficients with these two nations almost neck and neck when it comes to the allocation for a 4th Champions League place. A win for Fiorentina over Spurs could just tip the balance in Italy’s favour so a lot is riding on this.
At the weekend Fiorentina beat Inter Milan to leapfrog them into third in what was an incredibly fiery encounter. Fiorentina ended the game with 10 Men while Roberto Mancini’s side ended it with 9. Khouma Babacar’s late winner was the difference as The Viola managed to snatch a key victory.
It’s going to be a tough one to call I have a feeling that Spurs will be happy with a draw and certainly will want to snatch an away goal to take back to White Hart Lane. The result of the first will dictate what side is needed for the second leg next week. I have a feeling it’s going to be 1-1 with it all to play for in the Second Leg. Well at least I hope so as I have a ticket for it and don’t fancy going to a dead rubber. Honours even for me.
