Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Sunderland’s plight is not all that positive as of late, the club now sit bottom of the table with a threadbare squad thanks to injury and AFCON duty and it’s a squad which is a player lighter after the sale of Patrick Van Aanholt to relegation rivals Crystal Palace.
With the apparent asset stripping that Sunderland seem to be undertaking it’s as if they are almost waving the white flag already in regards to their bid against the drop. The sale of Van Aanholt will bring in much needed funds but perhaps selling one of their only real decent players is a counter intuitive move.
And Tonight it will not get any easier for The Black Cats as the basement side play host to title chasing Tottenham at The Stadium of Light. David Moyes men have not won in their last 5 matches and during that run of results they have only picked up a solitary point.
That point came in what was on paper their most difficult fixture with a creditable 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool, that draw was a major setback in Liverpool’s hunt for the title and Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping his side do not come unstuck later this Evening.
It was a 2-2 draw that Tottenham came away with at The Etihad in their last league outing, a point that Tottenham were perhaps fortunate to earn thanks to a multitude of reasons. Those reasons are namely Raheem Sterling profligacy in front of goal and also Andre Mariner not awarding what should have been a blatant penalty to City.
With the game at 2-1 City looked like they were about to kill the game off once and for all with Sterling clear through on goal. The former Liverpool winger was just about to pull the trigger when Kyle Walker’s desperate lunge put Sterling off balance and he only offered a weak effort at Hugo Lloris.
The obvious action would then have been a spot kick and a red card to Walker but those two things never came much to the ire of Pep Guardiola and seconds later he would have been seething when Heung-min Son leveled the score at 2-2 and that is how the game would finish.
Yes Tottenham did get out of jail thanks to Andre Mariner but at the same time credit does have to go Mauricio Pochettino’s men for clawing there way back into the game after a very shaky start to the game, one that meant Pochettino had to adapt from a back three to a back four after just 25 minutes.
The back three setup meant that Tottenham were over run in midfield and they simply could not handle with everything that City threw at them. They also did not make life easy for themselves as the likes of Kevin Wimmer looked shaky and was an easy target for City to attack at.
That game also saw Spurs’ defensive plight worsen as Toby Alderweireld limped off in the second half and although he missed the F.A. Cup tie at home to Wycombe the hope will be that he has shaken off the injury suffered in Manchester and is ready to return Tonight.
The same injury concerns will also be applied to Harry Kane and Danny Rose they also missed the cup game against Wycombe as a precautionary measure and should be fit and ready to return for the trip to Sunderland. With the form that these two have been in as of late they can ill afford to be missed.
The obvious sub-plot in this game will be Jermain Defoe facing his former club. Defoe had two spells at White Hart Lane and he is still held in high regard by many Tottenham fans thanks to his goalscoring exploits at the club, but that respect for Defoe will have to go on hold for 90 minutes as Tottenham look to stay in the hunt for not only a top 4 spot but the race for the title.
If Tottenham are to achieve at least a return to the Champions League next season then they can’t afford to give up points in games like this. In years gone by there would be a modicum of doubt going into this game but Spurs fans will be confident that their club can get all three points.
And I think with Sunderland bottom and selling one of their better players they will not offer all that much in terms of a threat, notwithstanding the threat that Defoe will bring but he alone cannot do it all so if Spurs can keep him quiet then it should be a job well done. An away win for me.
