Spurs take on Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon and if they wish to get back to winning ways then they will need to sort out their midfield mess.
The Lilywhites suffered a 3-1 loss to Arsenal in the North London Derby last weekend and after that match, pundit Jamie Carragher has come out to blast the virtually non-existent Spurs midfield.
“It was always coming. Ben White wins a challenge again against Harry Kane. Harry Kane wasn’t at the races, really not acceptable his performance, he got bullied,” Jamie said on Monday Night Football, as quoted.
“Where is Dele Alli going? What is he thinking to make that run into that position? When the ball dropped down, they’re running straight at the Tottenham defence.
“They got away with it (before the goal) now they didn’t, they’re not running back Hojbjerg and Ndombele, Dele Alli does okay because he was higher up the pitch.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in my life, Ndombele, Dele Alli and Hojbjerg, there’s less space on the moon than in that Spurs midfield on Sunday it’s unbelievable to see.
“There’s no midfield, the manager in someway must’ve told them where to go. They’re weak.”
Carragher has hit the nail on the head in terms of his assessment since apart from Hojbjerg, neither of the two midfielders were able to perform against Arsenal.
Dele Alli got a rating of 5.7 out of 10 while Ndombele got a mere 6.9 out of 10. And if they cannot improve their performances then they aren’t getting past Aston Villa either.
Dele Alli completed just one attacking third pass vs Arsenal.#NorthLondonDerby #ARSTOT pic.twitter.com/Oh9INsstTZ
— ReviewFootball (@ReviewFootball) September 26, 2021
Nuno does not have too many midfield options to fall back to this weekend so we expect minimal to no changes to the starting line up which took the field against Arsenal. Maybe Lo Celso might replace Dele Alli in the No 10 role.
But still, we doubt if this will be enough to beat Aston Villa since Dean Smith’s side are in great form, having picked up points in four of their previous five league matches.
For Spurs to come out on top on Sunday and pick up all three points, their forwards will have to fire in all cylinders, something which seems like a distant dream at this point in time.
