As Enze Postecoglou said, there was no Heung-min Son, Tottenham’s ‘captain’.
It’s the big day. Tottenham will take on arch-rivals Man City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 5:15 a.m. ET in the round of 16 of the 2024-2025 Carabao Cup (League Cup).
The League Cup was the last trophy Tottenham lifted. Spurs have been “irrelevant” for 17 years since their 2007-2008 season at the top. To shake off that streak, they’ll have to get past City.
Pep Guardiola said ahead of the game on Monday: “We have a lot of injuries and we can’t play according to my plan. I don’t want to put too much pressure on the young players. I will mix them with the existing players and give them short minutes.”
Postecoglou will also rotate his squad, but the changes are unlikely to be significant. The English publication Football London revealed its predicted starting XI for the match on Tuesday.
There are not many options on the left wing, where Son Heung-min will be playing. Mikey Moore, 17, has started two games in a row but was limited against Crystal Palace on Sunday. The Football Transfer Tavern expects Timo Werner to start. Dominic Solanke in the center and Brennan Johnson on the right.
Werner is also a concern.
He joined Tottenham on loan in January and extended his stay for another season. However, his lack of confidence has prevented him from performing well. In 11 appearances this season, he hasn’t scored a single goal. He has also failed to score in one-on-one chances with the goalkeeper.
Postecoglou recently said, “We are constantly talking to Werner. We all know that his confidence is low at the moment. We are supporting him as much as we can to help him get out of this. It’s our role to support him with what he needs.”
In the midfield, Dejan Kulusebski, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr are expected to start. Pedro Foro, Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin, and Jed Spence would line up at the back, with Guglielmo Vicario in goal.
Postecoglou confirmed Son’s absence in his pre-match press conference on Monday: “He’s almost recovered, but from our point of view, the goal is to play at the weekend. 메이저사이트 I’m sure he’ll be able to play then.” The weekend match is the 10th round of the English Premier League (EPL) against Aston Villa on Nov. 3 at 11 p.m.
Son was sidelined with a hamstring injury in the Europa League (UEL) against Qarabag (Azerbaijan) on Nov. 26. He has missed Tottenham’s three games since then. He was also ruled out of the squad for the A-match.
His return to the pitch came in the eighth round of the EPL against West Ham on September 19th.
Son was involved in all three of the Hammers’ second-half goals that tied the game at 1-1. He set the stage for Ebbes Bissouma’s winner in the seventh minute of the second half and scored an own goal three minutes later. In the 15th minute of the second half, he scored the game-winner. It was his third goal of the season. Eight minutes later, they broke down West Ham. Tottenham won 4-1, led by Son Heung-min’s brace.
But he was not at his best. Heung-min missed the match against UEL AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) on May 25 and again on May 27 against Crystal Palace in the ninth round of the EPL.
“He felt a little bit of pain after the game last weekend,” Postecoglou said ahead of the match against AZ Alkmaar. We’re going to keep him out of the game and see how he feels,” he explained. At the pre-match press conference against Palace, he added: “He’s not fully recovered yet. I don’t think he’s 100 percent. I don’t think he will be available for the weekend.”
For Guardiola, Son’s absence is a welcome one. Son is the “Man City killer,” with eight goals and four assists in 19 career games against the Citizens.
In the most recent clash, on May 15, Guardiola made a big deal out of the Son trauma.
He was left speechless on the spot when the South Korean had a one-on-one chance with goalkeeper Ortega.
However, Son’s shot was saved by Ortega, and the game ended in a 2-0 victory for City. It was a watershed moment for the club as they became the first team in EPL history to win four consecutive titles. “Do you know how many times I’ve been beaten by Son Heung-min in the last seven or eight years? I thought, ‘Oh my God, not again,’ and Ortega made a great save,” Guardiola said at the time.
On City, Postecoglou said: “Most clubs rotate in the Carabao Cup. But if you look at City’s record in this competition, it’s fantastic. Sometimes people take it for granted that it’s City, but it’s very difficult to maintain excellence in this league,” he said. ”The reason they do it is because they’re at a level where they can flow no matter who they’re playing, no matter what the competition is, whether they rotate or not. It’s very rare for City to get knocked out early in the competition.”