Tottenham Hotspur drew 2-2 with Arsenal in the North London derby last Sunday, September 24. As a result, they are now level with the Gunners with 14 points from six matches and are four points adrift of leaders Manchester City.
Tottenham has made a great start to the season under new manager Ange Postecoglou, but has yet another important match coming up against Liverpool on Saturday. They will want to earn at least a point from the match, but Jürgen Klopp’s side should prove to be a tough opposition.
Quite a few players are in fine form for Tottenham
Tottenham has a number of players in fine form at the moment. After the departure of Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min has excelled in the role of the No. 9 so far and has scored five goals already this season. With his brace against Arsenal, the South Korean forward reached the landmark of 150 goals for the Spurs.
However, it can be still debated as to whether Son has been Tottenham’s best player so far. James Maddison, the club’s summer signing from Leicester City, has evolved as the best No. 10 in the league. He has been an absolute revelation and has two goals and four assists to his credit already. His combination with Son tormented Manchester United first and then breached Arsenal’s defence twice.
Postecoglou’s team has played a possession-oriented game built around short passes and Maddison has suited their style very well. The Spurs had more than 55% ball-possession in the match against Arsenal, which is no mean feat.
In addition to that, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma have been very good as holding midfielders, lending Tottenham’s defense some solidity. Guglielmo Vicario has also emerged as one of the league’s finest goalkeepers in his debut season for the club.
Some tricky fixtures ahead
Aside from their next match against Liverpool, Spurs also have a few tricky matches coming up like the ones against Fulham and Crystal Palace.
At this juncture, nothing short of a top-four finish should satisfy Postecoglou and for that to happen, they should be gunning for full points against those two teams. Tottenham managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Sheffield United a couple of weeks ago, and will not want a repeat against Fulham and Palace.
However, Spurs cannot afford to thing too far ahead at this point and will have to take one match at a time. They have already proven that they can match the top teams in the league and should not short of confidence against any team.
Players in the reserve will also have to perform
Tottenham has had players like Richarlison and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg on their bench. Both could probably walk into the starting line-ups of some lesser teams in the league. Postecoglou will have to ensure that these players can contribute enough to his side’s cause.
Moreover, there is the experience of Ivan Perišić and the youth of Manor Solomon, which can help Tottenham in their campaign. The start has been very good and Tottenham cannot afford to let it go waste.