Premiership Tottenham v Derby

Posted on | August 17, 2007 | No Comments

This fixture at White Heart Lane should be an intriguing affair with so much at stake, and while you would normally have given Derby very little chance, Tottenham are struggling to get going this season.

After starting the season as one of the favourites for a top 5 spot in the premiership, Martin Jol is under pressure after two defeats in two games.  There has been talk of discontent in the club, meetings with the chairman and the dreaded vote of confidence – today is a big day for Jol, but injuries have turned against him again, with striker Dimitar Berbatov added to the already long list of absentees.

Billy Davies on the other hand has seen his team fighting for points in the opening two games, with many under the impression that they were unlucky not to win their first game, and maybe deserved a draw in the second.  While the season will be long and hard for the premiership new boys, today is probably the best time to play Tottenham, a club who are under big pressure.  On the injury front Davies see the return of Tyrone Mears and new signing Benny Feilaber has received his international clearance, making him available for selection for today’s game.

When you see that Tottenham have to visit Manchester United next week, then have two quick London derbies in succession, against Fulham and Arsenal, it is vital that they get the points today and take some of the pressure off the team.  They struggled against Sunderland, and while it took a last minute winner they did not deserve much from the game, it was the same story against Everton where again they were second best.

While Derby have shown that they can score goals with 2 – 2 draw against Portsmouth on the opening day of the season, followed by a 1 – 0 defeat at Manchester City, they have also shown some vulnerability at the back.  While the chips are down at Spurs and the club is suffering from a terrible injury list, they still have some class players in the squad. 

Darren Bent would seem the obvious replacement for Berbatov, and the ex-Charlton striker has the pedigree, pace and power to make a difference, not to mention a history of handling the pressure of keeping Charlton in the top flight for so long with his goals. 

Tottenham may be down, but they are far from out, and while they would prefer an early goal to get the crowd behind them, I fully expect them to over power a young Derby team with much to learn about life in the top flight.

Forecast : Home Win

Related posts:

1. Premiership Middlesbrough v Tottenham
2. Premiership Charlton v Tottenham
3. Premiership Tottenham v Blackburn
4. Premiership Tottenham v Manchester City
5. Premiership Sunderland v Tottenham

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