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Key events
An email! “Bissouma, Bentancur and Sarr are starting in midfield,” says Yash Gupta. “So Ange is saving Bergvall, Maddison and Son for the game against AZ Alkmaar. If Ange loses today, some might say hire a different guy for that game and those folks may have a point.”
Harsh but fair. It does look as if Ange is trying to win this game with his subs, whereas Iraola is looking to win it before they come on.
Teams in full
Spurs (probable 4-3-3) Vicario; Porro, Romero, Danso, Spence; Sarr, Bissouma, Bentancur; Johnson, Solanke, Odobert.
Subs: Kinsky, Udogie, Van de Ven, Gray, Bergvall, Maddison, Tel, Son, Scarlett.
Bournemouth (probable 4-2-3-1) Arrizabalaga; Cook, Hill, Huijsen, Kerkez; Christie, Adams; Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier; Evanilson.
Subs: Dennis, Soler, Akinmboni, Scott, Brooks, Ouattara, Sinisterra, Silcott-Duberry, Jebbison.
Referee John Brooks.
Teams in brief: Bournemouth
Andoni Iraola makes only minor changes to the team that lost at Brighton. Evanilson, who returned to the starting line-up in the cup last weekend, replaces Ouattara, while Marcus Tavernier comes in for David Brooks.
Teams in brief: Spurs
Several changes for Spurs after their fruitless trip to the Netherlands. Dominic Solanke is fit to start, so Tel drops to the bench, where he’s joined by Son and Maddison. The best news for the long-suffering Spurs fan is that Cristian Romero is back from three months in the treatment room.
Preamble
Afternoon everyone and welcome to a game that should be good to watch. Yes, it’s mid-table, but with Liverpool proving that you do sometimes walk alone and the three promoted clubs heading straight back down again, the middle is where the intrigue is.
You never know what you’re going to get from Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs – slick football or slapstick. Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth seem far more settled and sorted, but after a fine season they have begun to falter. Their results over the past six league games are just as Spursy as Spurs’: won three, lost three.
On even more recent form, Spurs have the edge. Their three wins have all come in the four games since the beginning of February, whereas Bournemouth have three defeats in their last four. During this time, strange as it may sound, Spurs have had the joint-best defence in the Premier League: they’ve conceded only two goals in four games, the same as their old friends Arsenal. But then they did manage to lose at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday. And their home form in the league has been dismal for months, with just one win in nine, while Bournemouth tend to be stronger on the road.
When the two teams met in December, Bournemouth won 1-0, thanks to a header by Dean Huijsen. But the scoreline flattered Spurs. On expected goals, according to fbref, it should have been 3-1 or 4-1 (3.5-0.9).
Bournemouth’s blip has taken them down to ninth in the table, but the battle for the Europa League places – now, deliciously, involving Man City – is so tight that a victory today would lift them to sixth. Spurs are 13th and will stay there even if they win, as they’re five points adrift of Brentford.
This is the Dominic Solanke derby, although the man himself may not appear. He came on as a sub in Alkmaar, only to go off again after a knock that drew a vivid description from Ange: “Obviously it’s a knee going into the backside, so it’s sore.” The irony is that Solanke is one of the few Spurs players who haven’t spent the season looking as if they need a kick up the arse.
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