Jose Mourinho Spurs Premier League
Jose Mourinho

Spurs were knocked out of the FA Cup in midweek and next up, they take on Premier League leaders Manchester City at the Etihad.

Jose Mourinho’s side lost to Everton 5-4 and despite failing to progress to the next round of the FA Cup, some fans and pundits were happy that Spurs managed to score four goals on the night – something which is really rare from a Mourinho-led side.

And this has led many to believe that Jose Mourinho might choose to alter his tactics this weekend and instead of parking the bus, Spurs could choose to show their authority vs City.

The Tottenham fans will undoubtedly be happy if their team plays with an attacking mindset on Saturday but according to Sky Sports News reporter Paul Gilmour, Mourinho will go with the ‘tried-and-tested’ at the Etihad.

“Tottenham fans obviously won’t be happy going out of the FA Cup but from an attacking point of view, not many teams go to Goodison Park and score four,” said Gilmour.

“The problem of course was conceding five, so maybe we saw why Jose Mourinho does like to set up his teams to be solid defensively first and foremost.

“Maybe he has seen something in Tottenham to show that they need to do that. If he lets the leash off too much, then a mad night like that can happen.

“First and foremost, he’s about winning trophies. He wants to deliver a trophy for Tottenham and there’s more risk attached if you perform like they did against Everton.

“Yes, they scored four away from home, but they conceded five, they’re out of the cup and they don’t win a trophy.

“As a neutral, I would like to see him throw in as many of those attacking players as possible and let them run free because if (Harry) Kane, (Heung-Min) Son, (Lucas) Moura and (Erik) Lamela are all thrown in at once and really given license to get at City, it might give them something to think about.

“But equally, if Everton can put five past Spurs, it could leave gaps for City to exploit too.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tottenham Hotspur (@spursofficial)


“I can see them going back to the tried and tested ways that he has beaten Manchester City with in recent times. I think he will revert to a more solid base and he will be scarred by conceding five. No manager enjoys that, but especially not him. I get the feeling he’s a manager who would focus on conceding five a lot more than scoring four.

“That will have felt deeply uncomfortable for him because he has bult his title-winning and trophy-winning teams around that solid base.”

There’s no way Jose Mourinho will want his team to take the initiative on Saturday, more so since Man City are in such fine form. In typical Jose style, Spurs will cocoon up in defence from the very first minute and then will try and hit City on the counter with the likes of Son and Harry Kane.

This type of tactical play is not loathed by many pundits but the only thing Mourinho cares about is the three points and he’s more likely to pick up a win by setting up a defensive side rather than going all out in attack.

Read: Man City might miss two key players for their PL clash vs Tottenham.