Tottenham will invite West Ham to its home stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, on the 8th to face off in the 15th round of the 2023-2024 Premier League. Currently, Tottenham is in fifth place with 27 points, and West Ham is in ninth place with 21 points.
The U.K.’s Football London predicted that Tottenham’s roster will change in the upcoming match against West Ham. “Coach Angie Postecoglou will consider two changes in the match against West Ham. This is a no-brainer that is not worth much consideration,” media reported on Wednesday.
Football London has predicted that two will go down to the bench and two new players will get a chance to start compared to the last match against Manchester City. The first two to disappear from the starting list are Emerson Royal and Hill.
Emerson’s return to the bench is expected. Main center back Christian Romero will return. He was suspended last month after receiving a direct red card against Chelsea, but his punishment was lifted after the match against Manchester City. 온라인경마
For Tottenham, there is no reason to leave the center back position to Emerson. “The right fullback is my position. Postecoglou was forced to form the central defense with Ben Davies-Emerson due to Mickey van der Ben’s injury and Romero’s absence from disciplinary action, but he is expected to put forward a Davis-Romero combination from the next game.
Davis has experience as a central defender for both the Welsh national team and Tottenham Hotspur, so he has an advantage in competition with Emerson. Unlike Romero and Emerson, he can also get extra points for being a left-footed player.
“Romero can now return to the top 11. Replacing Emerson with him is a fairly easy decision for Postecoglou,” Football London said. “Romero’s return will be an opportunity for him to build a good partnership with Davis in central defense.”
Hill is also highly likely to be excluded from the starting lineup. The winger, born in 2001, recently got a chance due to a string of injuries sustained by Tottenham’s strikers. Postecoglou gave Hill time to play when Ivan Perisic, Manor Solomon, James Maddison and Hishalisson were all out injured.
Hill played as a substitute in the last match against Wolverhampton and played for 15 minutes, before starting in the matches against Aston Villa and Manchester City. However, his performance was below expectations. Although he played sincerely, he couldn’t keep up with the Premier League’s fast tempo at all. Hill was also weak in physicality, so he used to be a target for opponent teams’ defense.
Notably, the match against Manchester City was the worst. Hill and Emerson made a series of mistakes under pressure from Manchester City, and they received five and four points, respectively, based on Football London. Media outlets reported that Emerson was disqualified after just 12 minutes. After losing the ball, he dedicated the opportunity to Erling Hallan. “He looked sloppy several times only in the first half,” and “He struggled to tease Walker. He left the stadium at half-time to replace Pierre-Emile Hoivier.”
Among them, Hill angered captain Son Heung-min with his disappointing play. Hill cut off Rodri’s pass mistake from Manchester City’s camp in the 27th minute of the first half. If the pass was passed to Son Heung-min, who was jumping into the center, it could be a decisive opportunity for him to face the goalkeeper.
Hill also looked at Son Heung-min, but did not pass immediately, but drove the ball up. And he passed to Son Heung-min later. Of course, the ball was blocked by Manchester City’s defense, which covered the ball. That’s how a golden opportunity flew.
Then, Son looked at Hill and swung his right arm wide and became unusually angry. He couldn’t hide his frustration, saying, “Why didn’t you pass it to him early?” Hill, who cradled his head, protested by raising his arms.
Hill’s slump continued afterwards. He was constantly interrupted by Kyle Walker, Manchester City defender, and frequently made mistakes in passing from the back, causing crisis. Postecoglou brought him to the bench early in the second half and deployed central midfielder Hoivier. This means that Hill’s performance was just as bad as that.
Postecoglou is also expected to take out another card now. Football London said, “Instead of Hill, Hoivier can take the field from the beginning. Hoivier helped Tottenham take the lead in the midfield and played a key role in the draw against Manchester City.”
In fact, Postecoglou said after the match against Manchester City, “Hoiviere was helpful. He was outstanding in the second half. He had much more confidence in our soccer. He did not hesitate when passing the ball like in the first half.”
For Tottenham, if Hoivier is good, there is no need to use Hill. Hoivier and Yves Bissouma fight in the midfield, and Giovanni Lo Celso can be forward and used as an attacking midfielder. Then Dejan Kulusevski can also return to his original position.
Meanwhile, Tottenham escaped from a three-game losing streak with a draw against Manchester City. Tottenham led the league with eight wins and two draws through the 10th round this season, but was on the decline due to injuries and disciplinary actions by its main players. However, they gained a valuable point away from Manchester City and Romero returned, paving the way for a rebound.