Townsend Out, Lamela In?: Spurs v Sheriff Predicted Line-Ups and Stats Preview

Tottenham – FC Sheriff

Date: Thursday 7th November

KO: 20:05

With qualification to the next stage of the competition well in sight after a spotless record of three wins in three games, Andre Villas-Boas’ Tottenham Hotspur team hosts an FC Sheriff side that they beat 2-0 last time out. Sheriff still have a chance of qualifying as second-placed Anzhi, two points ahead, continue to struggle, however, they are no doubt fully aware of the uphill task facing them at White Hart Lane.

Team News

Tottenham Hotspur

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been passed fit for this game after he lost consciousness over the weekend away to Everton, however, Villas-Boas isn’t yet sure if he’ll start the Frenchman or former USA international Brad Friedel. Meanwhile, Danny Rose, Sandro, and Ezekiel Fryers are ruled out through injury, while Emmanuel Adebayor will not feature, according to the BBC.

FC Sheriff

Manager Veaceslav Rusnec has no injury concerns coming into this game.

Predicted Line-ups

Tottenham Hotspur

“We will make a lot of changes [for Thursday] but there will be no complacency,” commented Villas-Boas ahead of the game. That said, a lot of fringe players should again see some pitch time. Etienne Capoue, who has been out for a number of weeks through injury, should expect to get his first start since then. This game should also present another opportunity for the struggling Erik Lamela to try and get going.

4-2-3-1: Friedel; Naughton, Chiriches, Kaboul, Vertonghen; Capoue, Dembele; Lamela, Eriksen, Sigurdsson; Defoe.

FC Sheriff

Rusnec shouldn’t field a side that is too different to the one that lost in the reverse fixture.

4-2-3-1: Tomic; Belima, Samardzic, Metoua, Paje; Stanojevic, Moyal; Cavalcante, Cadu, Luvannor; Isa.

Recent Form

Spurs are unbeaten in eight European home games since losing 2-1 to PAOK FC in the 2011/12 Europa League group stage. So far this season, they’ve won both of their Europa League home games 3-0. Domestically, they drew a blank in their most recent fixture versus Everton, but have lost just once in their last six games, sitting fourth in the league, but are tied on twenty points with second-placed Chelsea and third-placed Liverpool.

FC Sheriff are yet to win in 12 away games in the UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League, though their most recent three away fixtures in this competition ended in draws. Domestically, they won their last game 3-2 over Rapid Ghidighici. So, they should be even a little bit confident heading into this game.

Players to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur - Jermain Defoe

Defoe hasn’t been the main man up front domestically, but he has been leading the way for Spurs in this competition in more ways than one. Not only has he been given chances from the start up front, but he is the club’s best player in the competition with a Performance Score of 158 points and is the competition’s joint top scorer with four goals. Expect him to provide a goal threat once again in this game, especially given he is at home.

FC Sheriff - Kobi Moyal

Given the huge threat Spurs will pose in attack, they will need to do more than their fair share defensively. Moyal, who is also his team’s best player with a Performance Score of 93 points, will certainly put a shift in in the middle of the park. In the reverse fixture, he attempted the highest amount of tackles (5) and made the joint most interceptions for his side (5). His work rate off the ball will prove key if Sheriff are to thwart Spurs.

Prediction

Spurs have made beating the teams in their group look like hard work, but they’ve done their job so far and are yet to concede in the process. This should be another win for them and they should thus qualify without any hiccups. Sheriff put in a valiant effort last time out and likely will this time, but the hosts’ quality should prove too much to handle.

Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 FC Sheriff