There’s no denying that Tottenham Hotspur have suffered a painful season, having been dealt a tough hand.
The interminable injury issues under Ange Postecoglou are showing little sign of abating right now, with fresh troops merely stepping into the boggy ground freed up by someone else falling and being pulled into the infirmary.
Tottenham were put to the sword in the Carabao Cup against Liverpool but are swiftly presented with the chance to change the mood down N17, meeting Aston Villa at Villa Park in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
To be sure, it will be difficult, but Spurs have enough in the locker to score an upset against Unai Emery‘s well-drilled and plentiful side.
Spurs team news pre-Aston Villa
Micky van de Ven will not be risked as he tentatively returns from a hamstring injury that had kept him sidelined for nearly two months.
Tottenham have a host of players nearing the end of their stay in the overpacked medical room, although Spurs don’t expect any current sidelined players to be ready for the FA Cup clash.
Compounding the issue, though, Richarlison was forced off before the break against Liverpool and Postecoglou ceded that it “didn’t look good” for the Brazil forward.
With Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert also unavailable, the Australian coach is going to need to look at alternative solutions, with the academy likely to be called upon.
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Spurs must unleash their academy star
Aged 17, Mikey Moore has been one of the brightest sparks from a dreary campaign, increasingly more central to Ange’s long-term project, featuring 15 times and clinching a goal and an assist apiece.
Moore is a winger and Richarlison would have been selected centrally had he avoided midweek injury, but another setback merely pushes the need for a talisman into the teenager’s path.
Luckily, there are few rising stars even in Moore’s ballpark when it comes to natural quality, and he could bring the requisite energy and impetus to truly lay down his marker as Ange’s new main man, charged by the high technical skill and influence of Heung-min Son, who will take the centre-forward spot.
|
Mikey Moore – Stats vs Elfsborg |
|
|---|---|
|
Match Stats |
# |
|
Minutes |
90′ |
|
Goals |
1 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Shots (on target) |
4 (3) |
|
Touches |
64 |
|
Accurate passes |
29/34 (85%) |
|
Key passes |
1 |
|
Possession lost |
25x |
|
Ground duels (won) |
14 (4) |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
Tottenham face a different calibre of opponent in Villa, but Unai Emery’s high line and expectation of defeating the beleaguered Lilyewhites may actually play into their favour, with players such as Son sliding surgical passes through to the quick-burst movements of Moore.
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Ange could even find that he has his answer to Marcus Rashford in the up-and-coming talent, with the Three Lions ace joining Villa from Manchester United on a loan deal until the end of the season last week.
Rashford may not ply his trade for the Red Devils any longer but he’s still one of the Premier League’s brightest academy stars of this generation, with Chris Smalling acknowledging that he looked a “special talent” from the offing.
Said to be the fifth most similar player to the new Villa signing in the Europa League this term, via FBref, Moore would like to think that he bears a similar moniker, and is in fact something of a teenage “superstar”, as commented by Fabrizio Romano, merely restricted by Ange’s current struggles.
One thing’s for certain, with so many Tottenham seniors sidelined and magic required to topple a drilled Villan backline, a silky and powerful winger such as Moore, 17 he may be, could be the difference-maker.
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