Tottenham look to pick up from where they left off as they host Sheffield United in the Premier League this afternoon. An unbeaten start to the season left them second going into the international break, with the challenge now showing that form again after a fortnight away.
Ange Postecoglou and James Maddison won the Manager and Player of the Month awards after quickly making an impression in north London, and the Spurs fans will be expecting more of the same this afternoon. Heung-min Son scored a hat-trick in the big win over Burnley two weeks ago and is set to lead the line once again.
Sheffield United have just one point from their opening four League games, though all three of their defeats have come by just a one-goal margin. Keeping it tight against an in-form Spurs side will be a major challenge. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog, featuring expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick at the ground.
Live updates
Tottenham team news
Starting XI: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, Sarr, Bissouma, Kulusevski, Maddison, Solomon, Son.
Subs: Skipp, Hojbjerg, Richarlison, Emerson, Perisic, Dier, Forster, Johnson, Davies.
Not long now…
Team news coming up from north London in just under ten minutes now.
Imagine it will be Heung-min Son leading the line again after his hat-trick before the international beak, but Ange Postecoglou has also confirmed that Richarlison will be in the squad.
We’ll get the answers very shortly.
Postecoglou: We are short at centre-back
Ange Postecoglou has confirmed Tottenham remain on the hunt for a new central defender.
The club spent around £43m to sign Micky van de Ven and the Dutchman has impressed alongside a reenergised Cristian Romero but convincing options behind the pair are light.
Eric Dier has not been involved while Davinson Sanchez was sold to Galatasaray, meaning the club will look to put their faith in teenager Ashley Phillips, who joined for £3m from Blackburn earlier this summer.
Ben Davies is another option in central defence but Postecoglou has confirmed the club “need” another centre-back, though whether that comes in January remains to be seen.
“We are a little bit light there but, for Davinson, it was a good opportunity to get a long-term contract,” he said.
“We needed to rebuild the squad – there was no point tinkering around the edges. We still probably need another centre-back.”
Good memories for the Blades!
Sheffield United beat Spurs 1-0 when these two sides met in the fifth round of the FA Cup last season, with Iliman Ndiaye scoring the only goal of the game.
There’s been a fair amount of change at Tottenham since then, though…
Bentancur continues recovery
Rodrigo Bentancur this week joined his Tottenham team-mates in their warm-up routines ahead of training as the midfielder took the next step towards his return to action.
The Uruguay international has not played since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in February and remains on course for a return in November, as manager Ange Postecoglou recently outlined.
Bentancur has not yet returned to training with Spurs, but took part in a few warm-up drills on Thursday alongside the likes of Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal before returning to individual work.
Perfect afternoon for it!
Struggling Richarlison deserves credit
If Dele Alli’s candid interview with Gary Neville in July taught us anything, it is to think twice before condemning a player out of form.
Elite footballers are like the rest of us, often with complicated pasts and entangled personal lives, and their struggles on the pitch can be as much the result of off-field difficulties as fitness, confidence or ability.
This week, for example, one of Dele’s successors in Tottenham’s attack, Richarlison, revealed he will seek “psychological help” on his return from international duty after a “turbulent time” away from the pitch for the past five months.
Richarlison’s revelation came after he was pictured in tears on Brazil’s bench during the 5-1 win over Bolivia, in which he failed to score and was substituted. He then started the 1-0 win over Peru and had a goal disallowed — continuing a steady streak of rotten luck.
Click here for Dan Kilpatrick’s full piece
Spurs duo pick up awards
Tottenham pair Ange Postecoglou and James Maddison have been named Premier League Manager and Player of the Month respectively in recognition of their excellent starts to life in north London.
Postecoglou guided new-look Spurs to wins over Bournemouth and Manchester United in August following the opening-day draw at Brentford, and beat competition from Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, West Ham boss David Moyes, Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola to the award.
All five nominees were unbeaten but Guardiola was the only manager with a 100 per cent record from the month.
Maddison has been at the heart of Postecoglou’s transformed, possession-based side and scored his first goal for Tottenham against Bournemouth, following it up with another in the 5-2 win over Burnley this month.
He earned the gong ahead of City’s Rodri, West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen, Brighton attacker Kaoru Mitoma and Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford.
Standard Sport prediction
Spurs fans know this is the type of banana skin their club have fallen foul of over the years to dampen the mood at the unlikeliest of moments, but the players will be up to put on a show in just their second home game of the season.
The Blades cannot stop conceding and that trend will surely continue in north London.
Spurs to win 2-0.
Sheffield United team news
Sheffield United could hand a second debut to James McAtee, while Anel Ahmedhodzic is fit.
Tom Davies is in contention and Yasser Larouci is close to returning from injury, but George Baldock and John Egan face late fitness tests.
