Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou ready for ‘aggressive’ Bournemouth
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou hopes to find some consistency for his side when they take on Bournemouth.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LONDON – Consistency has been an issue for Tottenham Hotspur, and manager Ange Postecoglou will hope to get back to winning ways when his side travel to Bournemouth for their English Premier League clash on Dec 5.
Since clinching an impressive 4-0 win at Manchester City late in November, Spurs have drawn 2-2 against AS Roma in the Europa League and 1-1 with Fulham last weekend – both matches were played at home.
“They’ve all recovered well, we’re ready to go for a big game tomorrow,” said Postecoglou on Dec 4.
“A tough challenge, not just of late but from last year. They (Bournemouth) came here and were really aggressive... and especially at their place. They’ve beaten City and Arsenal at their place.
“They are one of those sides where they have a real consistency in performance and approach, so you know that you’re in for a battle. I’m really looking forward to it.”
In their last eight matches in all competitions, Tottenham have three wins, two draws and three defeats, hardly the form of a team who are aiming to challenge for titles or a Champions League spot.
Spurs have 20 points from 13 games in the Premier League, just two points more than Bournemouth. Therefore, the Cherries could leapfrog their opponents should they win.
Postecoglou has always prided himself as an attacking manager and has often said that he will not forgo his attacking philosophy, no matter what happens.
One positive for the Australian is that Spurs have been scoring goals with this mindset – they have netted 28 in their 13 league matches, an average of over two per fixture.
They have also failed to score in only one of their last 24 league games played outside London, when they lost 4-0 to Newcastle United at St James’ Park in April.
Despite playing away, Spurs have historically not found it tough to break down Bournemouth, having won 10 of their 14 Premier League encounters.
Injuries and absences could play a part, however.
Rodrigo Bentancur will serve the third of his seven-game suspension, while Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore are all either injured or unfit. Dominic Solanke and Cristian Romero are doubts.
Bournemouth will hope to take advantage on the back of a 4-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend. That victory came after they lost back-to-back Premier League matches either side of the November international break to Brentford (3-2) and Brighton & Hove Albion (2-1).
The Cherries will also be glad to be playing at home, as they have won three of their last four league matches at the Vitality Stadium, which includes triumphs over Arsenal (2-0) and City (2-1).
Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson has tipped Bournemouth to prevail. “Spurs were expected to kick on after that 4-0 win over Manchester City. But they have actually been quite disappointing in draws against Roma and Fulham,” he wrote in his Sportskeeda column.
“They’ve been frustrating to watch... I’m backing Bournemouth to get the win on home turf.”
