Tottenham are in need of a win, after mid-week disappointment against West Ham, as they face Fulham at home.
Hugo Lloris believes that Spurs were far from their best against their East London rivals, as he demanded more from the team going forward.
“We didn’t control the second half in the way we did in the first half,” Lloris said, having recently reached his 10 year milestone with Spurs.
“It is always disappointing when you get the lead … and unfortunately couldn’t get the three points [against West Ham].
“We’re going to learn from that and we have to make sure we get the three points against Fulham on Saturday.”
Despite a point being gained, the game against West Ham felt like a loss. The way in which the team played was concerning, with a lack of versatility when it came to playing out the back.
The Lilywhites’ post-match pass map exhibits just how frequently we played into the Hammers’ hands Wednesday night.
Cristian Romero’s absence, along with Rodrigo Bentancur, meant Antonio Conte’s side lacked two key parts of the Italian’s system. The Argentinian defender often plays out of the back into Bentancur, who receives the ball on the half turn or plays a first time pass allowing us to break forward.
When Spurs were 3-2 victors against Manchester City at the Etihad last season, Romero played a crucial role in all three goals, as well as preventing an equaliser for the hosts.
His return to the line-up will be a major boost, however Davinson Sanchez certainly performed admirably in his absence by not conceding in over nine hours of football before Wednesday.
We also saw Yves Bissouma make his debut midweek, alongside Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. This may be a repeated partnership at the weekend due to Bentancur still suffering from concussion.
Bissouma was struggling for confidence in the first half against West Ham, particularly after receiving an early yellow card. Once he started to get into the game, it was clear to see he could be of benefit to the team.
Having previously been at Brighton, derby matches were few and far between, so it was interesting to see how the Mali international adapted. Hopefully on Saturday, if selected, we will see a more confident version of Bissouma from the outset.
The return of Oliver Skipp is also a boost for the squad, as he will be hoping to get minutes under his belt. This is near guaranteed with the vast number of midweek fixtures in the run up to the World Cup.
Hopefully we will see Bryan Gil and Lucas Moura return to fitness, making them available as attacking options off the bench. The lack of forward options to bring on at the London Stadium, resulting in only one substitution, made it harder for Conte to create more of a threat to the West Ham defence.
Heung-Min Son will be hoping he can help contribute more going forward after winning the Golden Boot last season. He is yet to score this season and with Richarlison knocking on the door, it is essential for the South Korean to get off the mark sooner rather than later.
Tottenham will be hoping to get back on track against a Fulham side who have done well so far this season, Aleksandar Mitrovic pulling the strings for them. Spurs’ unbeaten start is a positive that can be built on even more with victory on Saturday.
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