Spurs vs Arsenal in the WSL does not have many good memories for the home fans. Apart from that one win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2023, they have lost every game against their North London rivals. Can they repeat the trick and beat the European Champions at Brisbane Road?
Tottenham have actually spent much of the early part of this season ahead of their neighbours. It was only that disastrous defeat to London City Lionesses last weekend that brought the two sides back on equal points. The Gunners go into this game ahead on goal difference alone.
Clearly, the visitors have the greater firepower upfront. Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly, Olivia Smith and so on. The latter two are negotiating some fitness issues, but there is plenty more to come in if required. And it has been creativity and goalscoring that Spurs have been struggling with. The positive news is that there are no additional Tottenham injuries on top of the longterm ones. There were concerns over goalkeeper Lize Kop, after she took a whack to the face in the previous fixture.
Asked about picking Tinka Tandberg ahead of Beth England last week, manager Martin Ho said: I will never go into any game just selecting a player for the sake of selecting a player. I think a lot about it analytically." He added that "we need to understand that there's two really solid profiles there that actually add a lot of value to this team and they're two totally different players as much as people don't think."
The manager indicated that his star attackers are rather enjoying fighting for a place on the pitch. Of his skipper, Ho said: "Beth's probably one of the biggest competitors I've worked with. She wears her heart on her sleeve, she wants to be number one".
Spurs Moving Forward
Tottenham Women continue to develop under Ho. The manager is clear that this is a long term project. "We've got lots of work to do to be where we want to be," he said. "Arsenal have built that over a long period of time and it takes time to build that. didn't just win the Champions League as a one-off." Winning this game would be laying down one hell of a marker...
The Gunners might have had a frustrating start to the season, but beating them is always going to be difficult. Luck, and everything else will have to go Spurs' way if they are to get anything from this fixture. However, the visitors do not look quite as unbeatable as they once did. They can be frustrated if the likes of Drew Spence and Eveliina Summanen get stuck into the midfield. Give Arsenal respect, time and space though, as Tottenham did against Chelsea, and their will be major problems.
Tottenham vs Arsenal Women in the WSL at Brisbane Road
Sunday's game will not be taking place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as it has done previously. Games at that stadium will take place next year. Instead, this North London Derby will be played at Spurs Women's usual stomping ground, Brisbane Road. Ho thought this might actually help his side. "We know exactly what the feel is at Brisbane Road. We have a really good start of the season at Brisbane Road up to now and we have to make sure we continue that," he commented.
Over 7,000 tickets have been sold for the game, so their should be a good atmosphere. The fans have done their part. Whether the Spurs players can deliver is another matter.
Comments
Post a Comment