After a devilishly poor season, Tottenham Hotspur is ready to play the biggest game of years.
Ange Postecoglou’s team may be 17th in the Premier League, but in Europe they are sensational, resulting in the Europa League final.
But Manchester United have to improve for the fourth time in a row this season, and the people of North London have to do it without some key players, especially Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison.
Their absence leaves a hole in the middle, and managers have to make it creative about stuffing.
Tottenham Team News
As already mentioned, the most important absentees of the Spurs ahead of tomorrow’s very important final are Crucevsky, Bergval and Madison.
blackboard
Football Fancast’s Chalkboard series presents tactical discussions centered around global games.
The former began a league match against Crystal Palace last week, but first came out what was called “Knocks.”
Madison has not undergone surgery due to a knee injury, but picked up in the first leg of the semi-finals against Bodeau/Grimt, but he will also take action until next season.
Similarly, the boss confirmed that the young Swedes will not feature again this season after suffering an ankle injury in a training session earlier this month before that first leg.
Finally, both Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner remained for a long time, with the former injuring his ACL and the latter injuring his hamstring.
Spurs stars to start instead of Kulusevski
Well, with Kulusevski, Bergvall and Maddison out right now, Wilson O’Dobert has little favor on Friday night.
However, one of the outside options in the box that you can choose to go with Post Ecoglu is to move the pipe matulsal up the pitch a little and into its offensive midfield role.
Now, before the pitchfork comes out, I know this is an unfamiliar position for the Senegalese ace, but he is an incredibly talented midfielder and believes that some elements of his game can make this job a one-off match.
First, he tends to play in the middle or in the defensive midfield, but the 22-year-old “Monster” dubbed by journalist Mitch Fretton has a decent shot for him, like Bergval.
For example, he scored a great long distance effort against Manchester City earlier this season, then another scored from outside the box against Chelsea while it was ruled out for a suspicious foul.
Plus, in 80 Premier League appearances, he was able to gather six goals and six assists, which is not a terrible return, and combined with his ability to hit the ball from range, he can give United’s defense what he should think about without the Swedish duo.
Moreover, his underlying numbers in the Europa League this season only further show that people probably have more offensive abilities than giving him credit.
SARR’s UEL Scout Report | ||
---|---|---|
statistics | Around 90 | Percentile |
The penalty kick won | 0.16 | Top 2% |
GCA (drawn foul) | 0.16 | Top 4% |
Total mobile distance | 261.61 | Top 5% |
Target % shot | 71.4% | Top 6% |
Pass Complete % (Medium) | 92.8% | Top 6% |
Non-penalty goals | 0.32 | Top 9% |
Goal/Shot | 0.29 | Top 9% |
the goal | 0.32 | Top 10% |
Target shot | 0.81 | Top 11% |
All statistics via FBREF |
For example, FBREF is the top 2% of midfielders due to winning penalties, top 5% in total cargo distance, top 6% of targets and medium passes, top 10% per shot, top 10% per shot, top 10% per 90.
Finally, unlike his captain, the former Mets gem adds even more dynamism and athleticism to mid-North London.
Ultimately, as we’ve already said, there’s no ideal solution to this problem, but starting SARR with a more attacking midfield role might be the closest thing Postecoglou will allow the team to maintain its strength.
Related
Spurs can travel on £30 million stars to land major Spence upgrades
As Tottenham Hotspur prepares for a massive team rebuild this summer, can they sign a “mutual purpose” new 23-year-old defender for just £30 million?