It had the makings of a sixth straight victory for Tottenham Hotspur, leading 2-0 at halftime with everything finally clicking under Ange Postecoglou. Then…the wheels fell off at the Amex as Brighton surged into the lead, and suddenly everyone is questioning if this style of play is actually viable for Postecoglou and Spurs as defensive lapses continue to plague this team.
In general, I think it is much too reactionary to let this one match — one half, really — overwhelm the narrative, but I recognize that tempers will not be calmed if things go poorly against everyone’s favorite West Ham United this weekend. A Tottenham win would still make it three in the past four in the league, and that would feel like much more of a trend than the collapse at Brighton.
Tottenham Hotspur (t-9th, 10pts) vs. West Ham United (t-12th, 8pts)
Date: Saturday, October 19
Time: 10:00 am ET, 3:00 pm UK
Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
TV: USA Network (USA), TNT Sports 1 (UK)
New manager, same results for West Ham so far. Julen Lopetegui’s side sits 12th in the table on the young season, losing to Villa, City, and Chelsea (and Liverpool in the League Cup) while getting results against non-top clubs. Near-zero goal difference and xGD figures tell most of the story, with Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek, and the potentially departing Lucas Paqueta each finding the net twice apiece.
Tottenham continues to struggle in West Ham’s cup final, having won just twice in the past eight league contests. Spurs fell 1-2 in North London last December despite an early Cristian Romero goal, and the sides drew in the reverse fixture after another early goal, this time from Brennan Johnson. They did win the two home fixtures before last season, though, and getting this one feels like a necessity.
Playing with fire
Much has been written about Postecoglou’s style (stubbornness?) in the past week, but the numbers still show that Tottenham has only conceded eight through seven league matches on 8.0 xGA, so while there continue to be some questionable moments, it is not as if this defense is ready to completely implode. Yes, there are a few too many dangerous chances allowed, but again it feels like outings such as at the Amex have been the anomaly this season.
I do think it is fair to question if Romero and Destiny Udogie are going to be a liability at some point, however. Just on the eye test, neither looks completely stable, and many of the goals allowed this season can be traced back to these two. The high line and aggressive approach requires all four defenders to be in sync and engaged, and when there is an issue it often comes from one of these two. West Ham is not the most intimidating attacking outfit but does have the ability to punish mistakes, so a clean showing from the back line is essential on Saturday.
Defrosting
Even without the desire (need?) to quickly move past the Brighton loss, the international window came at a tough time for some on-fire Spurs attackers. Brennan Johnson scored in each of the six matches heading into the break, though did continue his form by scoring with Wales. Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke scored three times in September and earned himself an England call-up, assisting Jude Bellingham against Greece.
The bright spot is Heung-min Son could be back for the weekend after missing the past couple weeks. While the captain has looked a little off, he does have four goal involvements and is an obvious upgrade over Timo Werner. With how well Johnson and Solanke have been playing lately, this front three could be lethal; even if Son is not quite 100 percent, his return to this particular lineup is extremely enticing and should yield some goals against a nothing-special West Ham defense. Johnson’s opener last spring was a simple tap-in; it is not too hard to imagine an encore on Saturday.