Pressure is on Spurs to advance after defiant Ange Postecoglou’s ‘second season’ trophy vow
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Coventry vs Tottenham LIVE!
Spurs are in Carabao Cup third-round action away at Championship opposition tonight, with added pressure on them to advance after all the discussion around Ange Postecoglou’s trophy ambitions this week. The defiant Australian remains confident that he can end Tottenham’s 16-year wait for major silverware in his second season at the helm, while a strong performance would be most welcome after only one Premier League win so far this term and back-to-back defeats by Newcastle and Arsenal.
Yves Bissouma and Richarlison remain sidelined for the visitors, who have surprisingly made eight changes in total for their first meeting with Coventry - opponents in that famous FA Cup final of 1987 - in 11 years as they bid to reach the last 16. Postecoglou will want no repeat of the mistakes of last year, when his side were dumped out of this competition early by Fulham on penalties after similar wholesale alterations.
Coventry - losing play-off finalists from two seasons ago - currently sit around mid-table in the Championship under long-serving boss Mark Robins after winning just one of their first five matches, though they did beat both Bristol City and Oxford to make the third round. They also show seven changes to their starting lineup. Follow Coventry vs Tottenham live below!
Coventry vs Tottenham latest news
Coventry show seven changes from Watford draw
Coventry have made seven changes of their own from Saturday’s draw at Watford in the Championship.
Ben Wilson starts in goal, with Luis Binks, Jake Bidwell, Jamie Allen, Haji Wright, Norman Bassette and Brandon Thomas-Asante also drafted in.
Out go Oliver Dovin, Liam Kitching, Jay Dasilva, Victor Torp, Ellis Simms and Ephron Mason-Clark, while Joel Latibeaudiere picked up a knock at Vicarage Road.
Ben Sheaf and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto both return to the bench after respective ankle injuries.
Ange Postecoglou takes risk with eight Tottenham changes
So Ange Postecoglou has not been afraid to make wholesale changes after all, with eight in total from the north London derby.
Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dominic Solanke are the only players to retain their starting berths from the defeat by Arsenal on Sunday.
Fraser Forster makes his first appearance since that Fulham loss in this competition a year ago in goal, with teenagers Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert all afforded chances to impress.
Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies are the centre-back pairing with no Cristian Romero or Micky van de Ven even in the squad, while Pape Matar Sarr returns to the midfield and Timo Werner gets a rare start in attack.
Sergio Reguilon makes a surprise appearance on the bench alongside captain Heung-min Son and another teenage hopeful in Mikey Moore, while there is no start for Djed Spence.
AFP via Getty Images
Coventry lineup
Starting XI: Wilson, Van Ewijk, Thomas, Binks, Bidwell, Eccles, Allen, Rudoni, Wright, Bassette, Thomas-Asante
Subs: Collins, Kitching, Broad, Torp, Andrews, Mason-Clark, Sheaf, Sakamoto, Simms
Tottenham lineup
Starting XI: Forster, Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie, Bentancur, Sarr, Bergvall, Werner, Odobert, Solanke
Subs: Vicario, Spence, Porro, Reguilon, Moore, Maddison, Kulusevski, Johnson, Son
Tonight's venue
A lovely evening for football in the West Midlands.
I don’t believe Spurs have ever played at this stadium, with their last visit to Coventry coming at the old Highfield Road ground in the Carling Cup in September 2003.
That night, Robbie Keane offered a goal and an assist against his former club, with Freddie Kanoute and Rohan Ricketts also on target for a side under the caretaker guidance of David Pleat following the sacking of Glenn Hoddle.
Tottenham’s only other meeting with Coventry since then came in January 2013, when Clint Dempsey scored twice in a 3-0 win in the FA Cup third round at White Hart Lane.
Coventry also facing Carabao Cup selection dilemmas
There is also a selection conundrum facing Ange Postecoglou’s opposite number Mark Robins, whose Coventry side - losing Championship play-off finalists from two seasons ago - face a tough test tonight in a competition they have typically used so far this season to hand chances to players on the fringes of their first-team squad.
Will last year’s FA Cup semi-finalists - who can forget that epic six-goal clash with Manchester United at Wembley that went all the way to penalties - be at full strength this evening?
“From our point of view we have got some who are desperate to play, some players who have been in the team and others who have been on the periphery,” said Robins this week.
“They’re all desperate to play in this game, which is on live TV with a big crowd.
“You don’t get to experience it that often, so that’s my next few hours, making sure we have a coherent plan and having a team in place that can give a really good account of themselves and do Coventry City proud, as they have done in the past.
“We had a brilliant FA Cup run last year and this is the first time we have been beyond the second round in 12 years or so, so we know how difficult it is, and it’s been historically difficult to get through because we have tended to use this for people that have needed the next game to keep everyone as level as we can with their game time and load.
“So sometimes that pays off and sometimes it doesn’t.
“This season it has because we have a really good depth to the squad in most areas, so we have managed to get through and played some really decent stuff so far in this competition.”
Nigel French/PA Wire
Scrutiny on Spurs selection as Ange Postecoglou seeks right balance
We’ll find out the official team news shortly, but there is sure to be extra scrutiny on Ange Postecoglou’s selection tonight in the context of those much-discussed trophy aims and after a much-changed side were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Fulham at the first hurdle on penalties last year.
Some rotation is expected in defence as Spurs now face a run of seven games in just 21 days across all competitions, including the start of their Europa League campaign at home to Qarabag next week, though the manager surely cannot risk the wrath of fans if he makes wholesale alterations and his side are beaten again by lower-league opposition.
Postecoglou must weigh up the right balance of experience and chances to impress, with the likes of teenagers Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore all eager to stake their respective starting claims.
Here is how Standard Sport’s Dan Kilpatrick sees Tottenham lining up tonight...
Predicted Tottenham XI (4-3-3): Vicario; Spence, Dragusin, Van de Ven, Davies; Bentancur, Sarr, Bergvall; Werner, Solanke, Odobert
Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
Ange Postecoglou happy to be judged on Tottenham trophy fortunes
Ange Postecoglou also remarked yesterday that he was happy to be judged at Tottenham by his fortunes in terms of hunting major silverware.
Told he was holding himself to a high standard, the Australian said: “Yeah it is, but that’s all I’ve got.
"I failed last year in my head because that’s how I’m geared... that’s been my whole career, that’s my foundation. That’s why I’m sitting here.
"There’s no other way I could have got here.
“No chance in any universe I could have got here from Australia and been sitting here answering questions at one of the biggest clubs in the world and the best competition in the world if I didn’t have some sort of self-belief based on something of substance.
"I was never going to get here with my charm and good looks. I’ve never tried to steer it another way.
“Have I ever downplayed anything since I’ve been here?
“So I’m willing to be measured against [my success this season], that means that I’m fair game. I’ve never said not to.
"Now, how you come to your summary at the end, that’s as much on you as it is me.
“You can make your assessment on just one thing or many things.
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"But I’m happy to be judged against that standard because that’s my standard, that’s what I’ve done in the past and I don’t want to dilute that because then I miss the opportunity to continue on the road I’ve been on.
“I have no problems with people using that as a yardstick.
"I will say we’re four games into a new season, it’s pretty early. I realised in Scotland, they’d rule me out after two games.
“They said it was all over in the year we won the Double, so…I just find it…It’s just me, I’m going to be me.
“I’m just going to say these things the way I always have and I’m not going to change.
"It’s easy to… not easy but if I said ‘this is going to take three or four years’, then yeah it would relieve pressure.
“But I don’t want to wait three or four years.
“This year’s an opportunity and then if we do well this year, next year’s an opportunity. So that’s the way I think about it."
Ange Postecoglou confused by reaction to silverware message
Ange Postecoglou seemed rather baffled by the reaction to his ‘second season’ trophy claim made again in a somewhat prickly exchange following Tottenham’s third consecutive home north London derby loss on Sunday.
The Australian insists it was not any sort of boast, but merely a statement of fact that he has delivered silverware in his sophomore campaigns at previous clubs.
"It's amazing, isn't it? I just stated a fact and it seems like, am I supposed to just lie or just say it never happened?" he said.
"But, no, it's just confusing to me that people are making a big deal out of something.
“I'm not sure how I'm supposed to answer something that is true.
"Like if I don't win it in the second year this year and I come out next year and say 'well, I always win it', well, no, actually it's not true, but I've just said something that's true, and it seems like it's upset a lot of people for some reason.
"But do you really think it's me sort of boasting? How am I supposed to answer something that's true?
Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
"Is it to say 'well, actually, no, it wasn't that important, they were easy competitions and they don't mean anything'.
“If you've achieved something, aren't you supposed to say ' yes, I have, and that's what I hope to do again'?
"I'm not really sure why people misconstrue it as me trying to boast about something.
“I've answered a question which I think somebody else brought up here anyway, before that, which is true.
"And if it doesn't happen, then I can't answer that question in the same way next year, I can say 'mostly' not 'always'."
Coventry vs Tottenham prediction
Spurs to win, 3-1.
AFP via Getty Images
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