THE festive period could make or break Tottenham Hotpsur’s season. And no match is more important than today’s home game against Manchester United.
After the 2-1 Boxing Day victory at Leicester City, Mauricio Pochettino’s side face Louis van Gaal’s side and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in the space of just three days at White Hart Lane. The clash with the English Premier League leaders is the pick of the New Year’s Day fixtures.
Without too many people noticing, Spurs are now just two points outside the top four their players become more familiar with Pochettino’s style. They’re also through to the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup against Sheffield United — and into the knockout stages of the Europa League where they will face Fiorentina over two legs in February.
The key to Spurs’ improvement is tightening up defensively. Club captain Younes Kaboul was dropped as Jan Vertonghen and Federico Fazio became the first-choice pairing at centre back.
England international fullback Kyle Walker is looking confident again after returning from injury. So with Ben Davies completing a well-balanced back four, Tottenham have a solid foundation, with players who can also contribute with pace in attack.
And Spurs will have more options in defence come January when United States right-back DeAndre Yedlin joins them from Seattle Sounders in Major League Soccer (MLS). Apart from Yedlin, Pochettino says that he won’t make any major January signings.
But to properly get their season going, they need to string together more consistent results at home. The North Londoners have played a lot better on the road than they have in their own backyard, much to the dismay of their fans.
Only in recent weeks have they started to register significant league victories at White Hart Lane — the Nov 30 win against Everton was seen as a breakthrough — with memorable away successes at West Ham, Aston Villa, Hull and Swansea, where they finished strongly to take all three points.
Pochettino deserves credit for improving his side’s fitness levels this season which sees them playing with intensity for the entire 90 minutes.
So the home clash against a much-improved Manchester United is seen as a potential turning point in the season. Spurs’ recent record against the Red Devils is good — they’re unbeaten in their last four league meetings and won their last match 2-1 at Old Trafford on New Year’s Day this year.
That victory was their second consecutive success at the Theatre of Dreams where Christian Eriksen scored a goal and provided an assist.
The Danish playmaker is stronger and fitter than last season when he would occasionally fade out of games. He and homegrown striker Harry Kane have been the club’s standout performers this season, both scoring on the Boxing Day trip to Leicester.
Without really hitting top gear, Spurs are on the brink of the top four, are likely to appear in a Cup final and are doing well in Europe. It makes one wonder about their true potential once they actually start to play well on a regular basis.
Both van Gaal and Mourinho will be expecting tough afternoons in North London. A breakthrough win against these managerial heavyweights by Pochettino will prove to the hard-to-please Spurs fans what is possible this season. It is definitely a danger game for United as they look to extend their unbeaten run.
* Jason Dasey is Senior Editor of ESPN FC, Malaysia's number-one football website which has launched a Southeast Asian edition. Twitter: @ESPNFC