The Sports Bank

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglu continues to have a bit of a contentious relationship with the media. Ever since the “I ALWAYS win trophies in the second year” remark, and the response to it, there has been increased tension, back and forth, between the two sides. With a London derby versus Brentford FC looming, let’s take a look at these quotes, from after last night’s EFL Cup win over Coventry City.

“I don’t make substitutions by poll, mate,” Ange responded with snark, to a reporter question about substitutions.

Brentford FC at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kickoff: Sat. Sept. 21, 3pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Tottenham Hotspur Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction

Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK

Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur 62% Brentford 20% Draw 18%

PL Form, Position: Tottenham DWLL, 4 pts, 13th Brentford WLWL, 6 pts, 9th

“So you know, I’m sure the fans have got their own opinions but yeah, Lucas, like I said, that’s his first sort of significant game time for quite a while. What I didn’t want was pushing guys over the edge. I had some pretty good players on the bench who I thought could make an impact.”

Hmmm….maybe he’ll see our starting lineup prediction here, lolololol and take issue with our picks, hahahahahaa.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs Brentford

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie; Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski; 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. 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 avoided upset, as they bested Coventry City 2-1 in the League Cup’s third round last night. However, they didn’t come away unscathed, by any means. Wilson Odobert and Timo Werner were two injury casualties from the tightly contested affair. Quizzed by reporters for an update on Odobert’s status, manager Ange Postecoglou responded: “Hard to say. Wilson’s looks fairly significant so we’ll just wait and see.”

That doesn’t sound good at all, for Odobert. As for Werner, the initial prognosis sounds a lot better.

Brentford FC at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kickoff: Sat. Sept. 21, 3pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Tottenham Hotspur Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction

Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK

Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur 62% Brentford 20% Draw 18%

PL Form, Position: Tottenham DWLL, 4 pts, 13th Brentford WLWL, 6 pts, 9th

Spurs Team News

“Timo, again not really sure if it was just fatigue,” Postecoglou said after the game. “A bit unfortunate both of those, they play in a similar position. We hope it’s nothing too significant.”

I guess we’ll know more tomorrow, when he addresses the media ahead of the London derby this weekend.

Elsewhere Yves Bissouma could be back, as he’s recovering from a knock on his groin. Finally, Richarlison remains out, and he’s about a week or two away yet, due to an unspecified muscular issue

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. 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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“It’s hard to say at the moment, it’s a tweak in his groin,” Spurs boss Ange Postecoglu said on Friday, ahead of the North London Derby loss yesterday.

“The initial reports are it’s not serious which means there is a chance for Sunday, which tells me it’s nothing significant. If he doesn’t make Sunday, then I’ll assume he’ll be right for after that. At the same time, he’s just come off a long flight, you never feel great anyway, we’ll see how he trains tomorrow and that will give the best indication.”

Regarding Richarlison, the big Australian said: “Still a while, mate, yeah. He’s in rehab and we are going to take it a bit conservative with him.”

If there is a chance for Spurs to really pick off Arsenal FC, it’s now. The Gunners currently have a lot of walking wounded, and Tottenham Hotspur are pretty fit, overall, as a squad right now. While the North London Derby has been more going the way of Arsenal lately, Sunday is a great chance to turn the beat around.

Spurs will be at home, and White Hart Lane will be rocking for the Sunday matinee.

North London Derby FYIs

Kickoff: Sun. Sept. 15, 2024 at 2pm UK at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Injury Reports: Tottenham Arsenal FC

Team News: Tottenham Arsenal FC

Starting XI Prediction: Arsenal FC Tottenham

Google Result Probability: Arsenal 41% Draw 27% Tottenham 32%

PL Position, Form Guide: Arsenal 4th, 7 pts, WWD Tottenham 10th, 4 pts, LWDWL

Manager Postecoglu has a great opportunity to pick a very strong lineup for this one, and this is what we think it will look like.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs Arsenal FC

Gugliemo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie; Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison; Dejan Kulusevski, Heung-Min Son, Dominic Solanke

Match Prediction: Spurs 1-0

Look for the home side to pull the mild upset.

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. 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 experienced a double fitness boost on Friday, ahead of the North London Derby on Sunday. According to manager Ange Postecoglu, both speedy central defender Micky van de Ven and pricy striker Dominic Solanke will be passed fit to be available for selection here.

As for Yves Bissouma, the defensive stalwart in the midfield, he’ll be touch and go; most likely a game time decision.

North London Derby FYIs

Kickoff: Sun. Sept. 15, 2024 at 2pm UK at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Injury Reports: Tottenham Arsenal

Team News: Tottenham Arsenal FC

Starting XI Prediction: Arsenal FC Tottenham

Google Result Probability: Arsenal 41% Draw 27% Tottenham 32%

PL Position, Form Guide: Arsenal 4th, 7 pts, WWD Tottenham 10th, 4 pts, LWDWL

Spurs Team News

‘Micky’s good, he’s trained all the way through the international break and it was good for him to stay with us to build him back up so he’s ready to go,’ Postecoglou said of Van de Ven to the club’s in-house media.

On Solanke, he said: “Dom’s improved as well and trained the back half of this week. We still have two days to go with those guys so hopefully they get through training OK and are available.”

Regarding Bissouma, the second year Australian said: “He’s got a bit of an issue, but we’ll have a look at him over the next couple of days and see how it settles.”

There are no other changes to the team news situation at this time.

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. 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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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, despite his attempts to be covert about it in the media, is in full blown selection crisis mode right now. Midfield meastro Declan Rice is suspended, and he has an injury crisis on his hands. The Spaniard will have limited options in both defense and midfield when his side travels to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Despite all the guaranteed absentees, the Gunners are still favored here, in the next edition of the North London derby.

North London Derby FYIs

Kickoff: Sun. Sept. 15, 2024 at 2pm UK at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Injury Reports: Tottenham Arsenal

Team News: Tottenham Arsenal FC

Starting XI Prediction: Arsenal FC Tottenham

Google Result Probability: Arsenal 41% Draw 27% Tottenham Hotspur 32%

PL Position, Form Guide: Arsenal 4th, 7 pts, WWD Tottenham Hotspur 10th, 4 pts, LWDWL

Maybe that’s because Arsenal have performed so well in this series, as of late. Especially so during the Arteta era, Arsenal have taken control of this series. Plus, despite all the missing key players, Arsenal are well understood to have superior overall talent, quality and depth on Tottenham.

Let’s see what kind of patch work, best of what’s around lineup Arteta can come up with for this one.

Arsenal FC Starting XI Prediction at Tottenham Hotspur

David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber; Kai Havertz, Thomas Partey, Jorginho; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli

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. 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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As another tediously slow international break continues to drag along, we start to look ahead to the North London Derby on Sunday. The hosts, Tottenham Hotspur, are in a much better place right now, fitness wise, than the visitors. We already covered Arsenal, at this link, yesterday. Spurs do have to worry about the likes of Richarlison, Dominic Solanke and Micky van de Ven. We’ll cover all of it here.

As always, click where highlighted for more on the aforementioned player.

Richarlison

The Brazilian striker has had a very troubled year or so, but when he’s fit, and when he’s on, Richarlison is top class. You really kind of have to feel for him, given all he’s been struggling with. He’ll probably miss the NLD, as he’s still battling a muscular injury. But he should be back not long after that.

Dominic Solanke

The club’s all-time most expensive player will deliver the ROI, eventually, but he may not be involved here. He’s a doubt here due to an ankle problem.

Micky van de Ven

The fastest player in the Premier League should be fit to feature here, having recovered from the knee problem that had been plaguing him.

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. 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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Newcastle United hosts Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in one of the more interesting fixtures of the Premier League weekend. It’s a battle of 5th versus 6th place in the table, as two big money clubs will clash, ahead of the first international break of the season.

Let’s run through all the need to knows here, and then try and predict the two first teams.

Tottenham Hotspur at Newcastle United FYIs

Kick: Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024 12:30 PM Local Time, St. James Park, Newcastle, UK

Team News: Tottenham Newcastle

Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK

PL Standing: Tottenham Hotspur 5th, 4 pts Newcastle United 6th, 4 pts

Form Guide: Tottenham DW Newcastle WD

Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur 38% Newcastle United 38% Draw 24%

What does the strongest possible selected by Eddie Howe and Ange Postecoglu look like? We’re guessing below….

Starting XI Predictions

Tottenham Hotspur

Gugliemo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie; Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison; Dejan Kulusevski, Heung-Min Son, Brennan Johnson

Newcastle United

Nick Pope; Tino Livramento, Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Lewis Hall; Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton; Jacob Murphy, Alexander Isak, Harvey Barnes

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. 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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Joe Willock suffered a thigh injury in Newcastle United’s League Cup win over Nottingham Forest in midweek. Although he scored the Magpies only goal, just a few minutes in, but had to be subbed off after just 15 minutes. According to manager Eddie Howe, the Willock situation is “a huge blow for him and for us.”

He went on to say that it doesn’t look good.

Tottenham Hotspur at Newcastle United FYIs

Kick: Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024 12:30 PM Local Time, St. James Park, Newcastle, UK

Team News: Tottenham Newcastle

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Newcastle

Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK

PL Standing: Tottenham 5th, 4 pts Newcastle 6th, 4 pts

Form Guide: Tottenham DW Newcastle WD

Google Result Probability: Tottenham 38% Newcastle 38% Draw 24%

Newcastle United Team News

Otherwise the rest of the injury situation tells a very different story.

The international break comes at a good time for Newcastle United, who have several players out injured right now, but could Callum Wilson (lower back) and Martin Dubravka (head/face) could return in the next match after the Sept. internationals.

Although they will miss Sunday’s clash with Tottenham. As will Fabian Schar, who is suspended here.

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. 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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Three players were notably absent from the most recent Tottenham Hotspur training session- Micky van de Ven, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke. Van de Ven apparently hurt his knee in the win over Everton last weekend, but may be fine to feature at Newcastle.

“It’s OK – we have to check it, but it feels OK,” manager Ange Postecoglu said of Van de Ven’s situation.

Tottenham Hotspur at Newcastle United FYIs

Kick: Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024 12:30 PM Local Time, St. James Park, Newcastle, UK

Team News: Tottenham Newcastle

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Newcastle

Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK

PL Standing: Tottenham 5th, 4 pts Newcastle 6th, 4 pts

Form Guide: Tottenham DW Newcastle WD

Result Probability: Tottenham 38% Newcastle 38% Draw 24%

Spurs Team News

The Dutch central defender would be a massive loss for Spurs, if he can’t go, but, right now, at least, it sounds like he should be available. Richarlison has been battling to get fully match fit again, and he has yet to go the full 90 thus far, this season.

In sticking with up, Dominic Solanke suffered an ankle injury in his debut, and missed out last weekend. He is a strong doubt here as well.

However, Destiny Udogie and Rodrigo Bentancur should, or at least could, be passed fit to feature here.

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. 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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