Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) news round-up for Saturday 7 November, updated 05:50 UK.
Tottenham face Leeds at Elland Road today, with kick-off at 12:30 UK, and Spurs have won three in a row. Roberto De Zerbi gave the latest team news at his press conference on Friday, and the club has confirmed most of it on its website.
Bentancur back, Savio, Bergvall and Mudryk out
Rodrigo Bentancur is available again after serving a three-match ban for his sending-off at Manchester United last month, as the club’s team news confirms. De Zerbi ruled out Savio, Lucas Bergvall and Mykhailo Mudryk, and Tosin Adarabioyo is back in the squad. “Tosin is available. He rejoined the group yesterday,” he said. Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert remain sidelined.
De Zerbi says Spurs are building something special
Asked whether European football is the aim, De Zerbi told the club’s website that the squad has plenty of targets but cannot take its eyes off the next game. “Now we are building, I think, something special,” he said, pointing to the mood in the dressing room and a clear style of play. He also called Elland Road one of the best stadiums in the Premier League, and said the atmosphere there makes it a tough test.
Williams-Barnett and the starting line-up
De Zerbi was asked about Luca Williams-Barnett and said he needs to learn from older players such as Robertson, Maddison and Ben Davies. On his role from here, De Zerbi said: “I think it depends on the result. He can play at the beginning.” Asked why a player so young should start, he said: “I think the age is not so important.”
Solanke and Marmoush need more confidence
De Zerbi was asked about Dominic Solanke and Omar Marmoush as a centre-forward pair, and he thinks the problem with the pair is confidence rather than quality. “I would like them to improve their confidence,” he said, adding that “the confidence can improve if you want, for sure, with goals, with assistance from the team and from myself.” He described Marmoush as a player who “can play as a 10, can play as a winger”, and Solanke as “more of a striker”.
Fernandes still has more to give
De Zerbi said Matheus Fernandes has improved in the last few games, but the young midfielder is still well short of what he can do. “I think his showing is 50, 60%, not more,” he told the club’s website. “His potential is bigger than the performances he’s doing so far, but he’s very young.” He has been playing alongside Tonali in the middle, and De Zerbi said young players “need much time to come inside, to understand the new club, to understand the new style”.
Rodon in line to return for Leeds, Stach and Okafor doubtful
Leeds have their own fitness news. Joe Rodon, a former Spurs defender, is in line to return from injury, while Anton Stach and Noah Okafor are doubtful, the club’s preview says.
Next fixture
Opponent Competition Date and kick-off Venue TV Leeds United (away) Premier League Saturday 7 November, 12:30 UK Elland Road TNT Sports 1
The club describes it as the last game before the November international break. Asked whether the break came at a bad time, De Zerbi said no, because “now the focus is just on the Leeds game”.
Injury list
Player Issue Expected return Source Savio Muscular injury Expected back 21 November FPL status; club team news Lucas Bergvall Knee Unknown FPL status; club team news Mykhailo Mudryk Ankle Unknown FPL status; club team news Xavi Simons Knee Unknown FPL status; club team news Wilson Odobert Knee Unknown FPL status; club team news
For the predicted line-up, read Leeds vs Spurs predicted lineups and team news. The previous round-up is Spurs News Today (6 Nov).
Featured photo: Hzh, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).