The Sports Bank

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs AFC Bournemouth

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Ahead of the weekend fixture against AFC Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglu defended his goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

The shot stopper got into a bit of an altercation with the traveling Spurs supporters, at last night’s 1-0 loss at AZ Alkmaar.

AFC Bournemouth at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kick: Wed. Feb 26, 7:30pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Tottenham Hotspur Preview Material: Team News

Google Result Probability: AFC Bournemouth 40% Draw 24% Tottenham 36%

PL Form: AFC Bournemouth WLWLL 7th, 44 pts Tottenham 13th, 33 pts LWWWL

“Vic is very, very passionate about this football club,” said Postecoglu.

“He is very passionate about what we are trying to do here. He wants to win, he wants everyone on board with that. If people think there is one bad or vindicative bone in Vicario’s make-up, they don’t know the man that I do. The guy is one of the purest human beings I’ve ever come across.

“Whatever he does he thinks is best for the team, best for the football club because he really cares.”

Let’s see if that passion translates to an upset victory on Sunday. Yes, AFC Bournemouth is favored to win this one, and honestly, rightly so. Here is who we think will join Vic in the first team.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs AFC Bournemouth

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies, Djed Spence; James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr; Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur preview, team news, tickets, and prediction

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The Premier League is set to deliver another captivating clash as Fulham hosts Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage on March 15, 2025. Both teams come into this encounter with not so different ambitions but you would expect a Spurs side to aim higher. Fulham, who are in a mid table position, will look to strengthen their position, while Tottenham who you would expect to to push for a Champions League spot find themselves on the wrong side of the Premier League table and are currently 12th in the Premier League. This London derby promises an intense contest, with both sides determined to claim bragging rights and crucial points. Both sets of fans can get Fulham tickets from a resale store.

Under Marco Silva, Fulham have become a well organized side that are quite hard to break down. While their form this season has been sometimes inconsistent, they have shown grit, capacity and resilience particularly at home. Craven Cottage has been a tricky ground for visiting teams, and Fulham will look to capitalize on that home advantage even against Spurs.

The Cottagers rely heavily on the creativity of Andreas Pereira and the physical presence of Raul Jimenez who remains their main goal threat, Brazilian striker, Carlos Vinicius can also be dangerous from the bench. Defensively, Calvin Bassey and Issa Diop form a solid partnership, while Bernd Leno has been quite a standout performer in goal.

Fulham’s strength lies in their ability to remain compact and frustrate opponents. Against a team like Tottenham, they will surely aim to limit space in midfield and exploit set piece opportunities. Fulham once again showed how tough they can be as they held Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Anfield. Andreas Pereria scored the first goal in the first half, and Andy Robertson set his side for a rougher road, as he was sent off for a goal scoring obstruction. However a Mohamed Salah master class set the tone for the likes of Cody Gakpo and Diego Jota to score for Liverpool. Marco Silva was disappointed to not win the game but he had kind words for his opponents who had a full and passionate crowd behind them. Here was what Silva had to say after the game:

“The game is emotional here. The crowd plays a big part and with the quality of Liverpool, they can almost be unstoppable. it’s the risk you have to take because we believe in ourselves. Liverpool are so good and they are winning so good, they are an aggressive team. Everything went to plan for us on the left-hand side.”

“I think the red card created more emotion in the game, the crowd played their part. We had to keep more of the ball and make them run more. We reacted well and had so many times three against four, the decision-making has to be better. We conceded a late goal in a moment we were too open and the quality of Jota made an impact.”

We should have taken three.

With one player more and leading the score, we should have been more narrow. We were too open and their composure was decisive.

The momentum is here and in our group. I have to give credit to our players for their attitude and commitment. We have to go in the same way against Southampton next week.”

Tottenham Hotspur, under Ange Postecoglou, has been one of the most exciting teams on their day to watch this season but their inconsistent performances have watered down most of their good performances this season. Postecoglou, known for his belief in attacking intensity and high pressing, has been unable to translate that Philosophy and ideology to his team. Spurs have been unable to consistently deliver strong performances and right now rather find themselves in the thick of the race for a Champions League spot, they are in uncharted waters in the second half of the Premier League table.

Nonetheless, they have had some standout performers so far this season. The attacking quartet of Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke has been pivotal for Spurs. Brennan Johnson, in particular, has been exceptional, providing creativity and goals from midfield. At the back, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have formed a reliable defensive partnership.

Spurs will aim to dominate possession and use their very dynamic forward line to create chances. While they have struggled in some away fixtures this season, their head to head against Fulham suggests they are capable of overcoming the challenge of the West Londoners. Tottenham’s boss Ange Postecoglou criticised VAR after his side lost 4-3 to Chelsea. Here is what he had to say:

“I think it’s kind of where we’re at with the current state of football, where people are just frozen to make big decisions.

“I think referees don’t want to make them because they’ll go to VAR and VAR doesn’t want to intervene, so you’re kind of left in no man’s land. There’s a couple of decisions I thought about today that definitely went against us.

“I thought the linesman put his flag up bizarrely for Deki when he was through, I don’t know what for. Those are things that are out of our control. We can’t do anything about that. Hopefully the powers that be work that out.”

Match tickets

Craven Cottage is expected to be packed for this London derby. Fulham fans will turn up in numbers, hoping to see their team upset Spurs, while Tottenham’s traveling supporters will ensure an electric atmosphere.

Fulham vs Spurs tickets for the match are available through Fulham’s official website and other authorized ticket platforms. Fans unable to attend can catch the game live on major broadcasting networks or streaming services.

Team news

Both teams will be eager to field their strongest lineups for this crucial fixture.

Fulham XI: Leno; Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Adama, Smith-Rowe, Iwobi, Jimenez

Tottenham XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr, Maddison; Kulusevski, Son, Solanke

Prediction

Spurs’ superior quality and attacking firepower are likely to prevail in the end. Expect a hard-fought encounter, with Tottenham edging out a narrow victory.

Fulham 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

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Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction at AZ Alkmaar

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Tottenham Hotspur have only one chance left at a trophy this season, and it’s in the UEFA Europa League. So if manager Ange Postecoglu is going to make good on his quasi-promise to deliver silverware to North London this season, it’ll have to be in the UEL. And the next obstacle on that quest is Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.

So as big Ange leads his side to the Netherlands, he knows that he needs to field the strongest side possible in this one.

AZ Alkmaar vs Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kick: Thurs. March 6, 5:45pm, AFAS Stadion, Alkmaar, Netherlands

Competition: UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Leg 1/2

Tottenham Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction

Fun Fact: Only one Spurs player, Dimitar Berbatov, has more UEFA knockout round goals than Heung-Min Son this century.

After all, this is the knockout round, where we separate the wheat from the chafe. Here is what we think the best possible first team could look like on Thursday.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction at AZ Alkmaar

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies, Djed Spence; James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr; Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs Manchester City

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The football schedule these days is like the interior of a sausage casing- a bunch of stuff just keeps getting stuffed in there. The Premier League weekend ended only hours ago, but we’re already on to another round of fixtures, headlined by Tottenham Hotspur hosting Manchester City, in midweek.

They have to jam that in there before the next round of the FA Cup action commences on the weekend. Although that is not anything that Spurs have to be concerned with!

Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kick: Wed. Feb 26, 7:30pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Team News: Manchester City Tottenham

Starting XI Predictions: Manchester City Tottenham

Google Result Probability: Manchester City 47% Draw 23% Tottenham 30%

PL Form: Man City WWLWL Tottenham LLWWW

PL Standing: Man City 4th, 44 pts Tottenham 12th 33 pts

But the overall point, about too many competitions and too much fixture congestion, well it leads to injury crises. And what team in 2024-25 knows that better than Spurs?

Although, at least now their injury crisis has massively abated.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs Manchester City

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies, Djed Spence; James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr; Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Man City at Tottenham Team News: Haaland, Stones, Van de Ven

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The knee injury that prevented Erling Haaland from featuring in Manchester City’s loss to Liverpool yesterday could likely keep him out in midweek too.

It’s a very fast turnaround to Wednesday night, which sees City visiting Tottenham, so Haaland is a strong doubt, to say the least.

Man City at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kick: Wed. Feb 26, 7:30pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Starting XI Predictions: Man City Tottenham

Google Result Probability: Man City 47% Draw 23% Tottenham 30%

PL Form: Man City WWLWL Tottenham LLWWW

PL Standing: Man City 4th, 44 pts Tottenham 12th 33 pts

Team News for Both Sides

Said manager Pep Guardiola yesterday, in regards to Haaland: “[The final decision was made] yesterday after training. He improved, but he did not feel good. I hope [he will be back on Wednesday], but we will see.”

Elsewhere is John Stones going to play again this season?

Maybe in May?

“He’s injured, difficult one; next hours or days, we will know whether he needs surgery or not,” Pep said on Friday. Also, whatever happened to Oscar Bobb?

Shifting gears to Spurs, only five confirmed injury absentees here, which is a major improvement over how the situation has been nearly all season.

Timo Werner (thigh) could return, if he doesn’t then that would be six.

Ange Postecoglu gave an update on two of the guys with thigh/hamstring injuries right now:

“We’ve got a week before the first Europa game. We’ve got the weekend off. And again, that’s about the time we’re hoping that guys like Romero and Micky, in particular.

“They should be in and around that sort of mark.”

He expanded more on Romero:

“He’s had [a follow-up scan] and it’s going well. He’s in a good place. So, like I said, with him and Micky, it’s just picking our moment now. We’ve got a really good period coming up where I think we can manage that where they’re back.

“They’ve had good weeks of training with us.”

Both could feature in the final game before the March international break.

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction at Ipswich Town

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Tottenham Hotspur head to Ipswich Town probably feeling decently well about themselves right now. At least to some extent. They’re inching closer to the first page of the standings, and although that’s not inherently impressive, given how their season has gone, for the most part, it is something.

A small something, but, hey you got to start somewhere. And visiting the Tractor Boys should provide a good chance to get three more points.

Tottenham Hotspur at Ipswich Town FYIs

Tottenham Preview Material: Full Injury Report Starting XI Prediction Team News

Kick-off: 5.30pm (BST), Saturday, February 22, 3pm, Portman Road

Result Probability: Tottenham 48% Ipswich Town 27% Draw 25%

Premier League Standings, Form: Tottenham 12th, 30 pts, LLLWW Ipswich Town 18th, 17 pts LLLLD

So maybe the tide is turning, in a good way, on their season? In order to get that result however, they’re gonna need to play their strongest team, and we think it looks like this.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction at Ipswich Town

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Kevin Danso, Djed Spence; Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Lucas Bergvall; Dejan Kulusevski, Mathys Tel, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs Manchester United

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Sunday brings perhaps the most hyped up 13th versus 14th place match of all-time, as Manchester United visits Tottenham Hotspur. Certainly it is the most expensive match-up, in terms of roster construction, between a 13th and 14th place team.

I guess you can call this the Traditional Big Six But Totally Floundering Right Now Cup.

Man United at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kick off: Sun. Feb 16, 4:30, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Team News: Tottenham Hotspur Man United

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Hotspur Man United

Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur 39% Manchester United 35% Draw 26%

PL Form, Position: Tottenham LLLLW, 27 pts, 14th Manchester United DWLWL, 29 pts, 13th

Spurs are getting a lot of healthier now, and manager Ange Postecoglu will have many more options in selection. Will that be enough to turn around the team’s pathetic form and save his job?

You can expect some of those fresh-out-of-the-training-room players to be in the first team lineup here. Likewise for a couple of the January transfer window signings.

Tottenham Starting XI Prediction vs Man United

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Kevin Danso, Djed Spence; Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Lucas Bergvall; Dejan Kulusevski, Mathys Tel, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Aston Villa Starting XI Prediction vs Tottenham Hotspur

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Tottenham Hotspur heads to Aston Villa for a fourth round FA Cup tie that also happens to be a matchup of two sides that began the season with realistic top four expectations. However, neither one are in that portion of the table right now. And only one of these two clubs was proactive in the January transfer window about trying to remedy the situation.

Coincidentally, it’s side that is much closer to the UEFA Champions League qualification slots.

FA Cup 4th Round FYIs

Tottenham Hotspur at Aston Villa

Kickoff: Sun. Feb. 9, 5:35pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK

Team News: Tottenham Aston Villa

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Aston Villa

You can’t look at what Spurs during the window that just closed on Monday and believe that they anything close to papering over all their cracks, let alone strengthened.

As for Villa, they matched Manchester City in terms of getting out there and taking action to try and solve their issues. And Sunday marks the first chance to see the new Villa signings in action.

Aston Villa Starting XI Prediction vs Tottenham Hotspur

Robin Olsen; Andres Garcia, Boubacar Kamara, Ezri Konsa, Ian Maatsen; Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana; Rogers, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey; Donyell Malen

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction at Aston Villa (FA Cup)

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Tottenham Hotspur’s best opportunity for at ending their 17-year trophy drought has now passed, with the elimination loss at Liverpool last night. So now it’s on the other domestic cup competition, and with they’ll be, with apologies to Willie Nelson, “on the road again,” as a trip to Aston Villa awaits.

“We’ll go out there on Sunday and put out more of a performance that reflects where we’re at,” embattled manager Ange Postecoglou said.

FA Cup 4th Round FYIs

Tottenham Hotspur at Aston Villa

Kickoff: Sun. Feb. 9, 5:35pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK

Team News: Tottenham Aston Villa

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Aston Villa

Fun Fact: Spurs have won five of their last six FA Cup ties against Aston Villa, with the last L coming in 1992

“I have a great deal of belief in these players and what they’re going through and how they’re dealing with it.”

Having reached the semifinals of the League Cup gave Postecoglu some leeway to work with, while the calls for his sacking increase. But now that Spurs are out of that competition, the pressure on him will only increase.

Tottenham Starting XI Prediction at Aston Villa (FA Cup 4th Round)

Antonin Kinský, Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Ben Davies, Djed Spence, Lucas Bergvall, Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, Dejan Kulusevski, Mathys Tel, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Tottenham Team News at Aston Villa: Richarlison, Van de Ven

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As they say in the hip-hop community, “can’t stop, won’t stop.” That phrase would certainly apply to the Tottenham Hotspur injury situation as a whole this season, and for striker Richarlison in particular.

The Brazilian went off injured in stoppage time of the 4-0 loss at Anfield last night.

FA Cup 4th Round FYIs

Tottenham Hotspur at Aston Villa

Kickoff: Sun. Feb. 9, 5:35pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK

Team News: Tottenham Aston Villa

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Aston Villa

Fun Fact: Spurs have won nine of their last ten at Villa, across all competitions

Spurs Team News

“It’s disappointing for him and he was emotional last night because he worked really hard to get himself back,” under fire manager Ange Postecoglou said of Richarlison and his lower leg injury on Thursday night. “It’s another setback that he’s going to have to deal with, we’re going to have to deal with. Hopefully get him back as soon as possible.”

Richarlison, who has been very vocal about the challenges that he deals with from a mental health stand point, has had a flurry of physical health problems in the past few years as well.

Since moving over from Everton in 2022, Richarlison has dealt with calf, groin, knee and hamstring injuries.

Also sidelined for the Aston Villa clash on Sunday are the following players: James Maddison, Timo Werner, Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner and Dominic Solanke.

Postecoglu did not provide a status update on any of the players in the aforementioned group, but he did provide the media with some news on the condition of another sidelined player, Micky van de Ven.

And it wasn’t good.

“Micky got through the [Europa League] game with no problem, but he feels he’s not ready yet for the step up to the Premier League,” Postecoglu said of the central defender’s situation. “And after losing Radu (Dragusin), I’m not going to risk these guys.”

While no one comes off the injured list for this weekend, the Australian hopes that a couple guys will for the following weekend.

“We’re still hopeful we’ll get at least two or maybe three back for the Man United game,” Postecoglou said.

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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