The Sports Bank

The football schedule these days is like the interior of a sausage casing- a bunch of stuff just keeps getting stuffed in there. The Premier League weekend ended only hours ago, but we’re already on to another round of fixtures, headlined by Tottenham Hotspur hosting Manchester City, in midweek.

They have to jam that in there before the next round of the FA Cup action commences on the weekend. Although that is not anything that Spurs have to be concerned with!

Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kick: Wed. Feb 26, 7:30pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Team News: Manchester City Tottenham

Starting XI Predictions: Manchester City Tottenham

Google Result Probability: Manchester City 47% Draw 23% Tottenham 30%

PL Form: Man City WWLWL Tottenham LLWWW

PL Standing: Man City 4th, 44 pts Tottenham 12th 33 pts

But the overall point, about too many competitions and too much fixture congestion, well it leads to injury crises. And what team in 2024-25 knows that better than Spurs?

Although, at least now their injury crisis has massively abated.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs Manchester City

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies, Djed Spence; James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr; Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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The knee injury that prevented Erling Haaland from featuring in Manchester City’s loss to Liverpool yesterday could likely keep him out in midweek too.

It’s a very fast turnaround to Wednesday night, which sees City visiting Tottenham, so Haaland is a strong doubt, to say the least.

Man City at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kick: Wed. Feb 26, 7:30pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Starting XI Predictions: Man City Tottenham

Google Result Probability: Man City 47% Draw 23% Tottenham 30%

PL Form: Man City WWLWL Tottenham LLWWW

PL Standing: Man City 4th, 44 pts Tottenham 12th 33 pts

Team News for Both Sides

Said manager Pep Guardiola yesterday, in regards to Haaland: “[The final decision was made] yesterday after training. He improved, but he did not feel good. I hope [he will be back on Wednesday], but we will see.”

Elsewhere is John Stones going to play again this season?

Maybe in May?

“He’s injured, difficult one; next hours or days, we will know whether he needs surgery or not,” Pep said on Friday. Also, whatever happened to Oscar Bobb?

Shifting gears to Spurs, only five confirmed injury absentees here, which is a major improvement over how the situation has been nearly all season.

Timo Werner (thigh) could return, if he doesn’t then that would be six.

Ange Postecoglu gave an update on two of the guys with thigh/hamstring injuries right now:

“We’ve got a week before the first Europa game. We’ve got the weekend off. And again, that’s about the time we’re hoping that guys like Romero and Micky, in particular.

“They should be in and around that sort of mark.”

He expanded more on Romero:

“He’s had [a follow-up scan] and it’s going well. He’s in a good place. So, like I said, with him and Micky, it’s just picking our moment now. We’ve got a really good period coming up where I think we can manage that where they’re back.

“They’ve had good weeks of training with us.”

Both could feature in the final game before the March international break.

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Tottenham Hotspur head to Ipswich Town probably feeling decently well about themselves right now. At least to some extent. They’re inching closer to the first page of the standings, and although that’s not inherently impressive, given how their season has gone, for the most part, it is something.

A small something, but, hey you got to start somewhere. And visiting the Tractor Boys should provide a good chance to get three more points.

Tottenham Hotspur at Ipswich Town FYIs

Tottenham Preview Material: Full Injury Report Starting XI Prediction Team News

Kick-off: 5.30pm (BST), Saturday, February 22, 3pm, Portman Road

Result Probability: Tottenham 48% Ipswich Town 27% Draw 25%

Premier League Standings, Form: Tottenham 12th, 30 pts, LLLWW Ipswich Town 18th, 17 pts LLLLD

So maybe the tide is turning, in a good way, on their season? In order to get that result however, they’re gonna need to play their strongest team, and we think it looks like this.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction at Ipswich Town

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Kevin Danso, Djed Spence; Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Lucas Bergvall; Dejan Kulusevski, Mathys Tel, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Sunday brings perhaps the most hyped up 13th versus 14th place match of all-time, as Manchester United visits Tottenham Hotspur. Certainly it is the most expensive match-up, in terms of roster construction, between a 13th and 14th place team.

I guess you can call this the Traditional Big Six But Totally Floundering Right Now Cup.

Man United at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs

Kick off: Sun. Feb 16, 4:30, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Team News: Tottenham Hotspur Man United

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Hotspur Man United

Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur 39% Manchester United 35% Draw 26%

PL Form, Position: Tottenham LLLLW, 27 pts, 14th Manchester United DWLWL, 29 pts, 13th

Spurs are getting a lot of healthier now, and manager Ange Postecoglu will have many more options in selection. Will that be enough to turn around the team’s pathetic form and save his job?

You can expect some of those fresh-out-of-the-training-room players to be in the first team lineup here. Likewise for a couple of the January transfer window signings.

Tottenham Starting XI Prediction vs Man United

Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Kevin Danso, Djed Spence; Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Lucas Bergvall; Dejan Kulusevski, Mathys Tel, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Tottenham Hotspur heads to Aston Villa for a fourth round FA Cup tie that also happens to be a matchup of two sides that began the season with realistic top four expectations. However, neither one are in that portion of the table right now. And only one of these two clubs was proactive in the January transfer window about trying to remedy the situation.

Coincidentally, it’s side that is much closer to the UEFA Champions League qualification slots.

FA Cup 4th Round FYIs

Tottenham Hotspur at Aston Villa

Kickoff: Sun. Feb. 9, 5:35pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK

Team News: Tottenham Aston Villa

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Aston Villa

You can’t look at what Spurs during the window that just closed on Monday and believe that they anything close to papering over all their cracks, let alone strengthened.

As for Villa, they matched Manchester City in terms of getting out there and taking action to try and solve their issues. And Sunday marks the first chance to see the new Villa signings in action.

Aston Villa Starting XI Prediction vs Tottenham Hotspur

Robin Olsen; Andres Garcia, Boubacar Kamara, Ezri Konsa, Ian Maatsen; Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana; Rogers, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey; Donyell Malen

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Tottenham Hotspur’s best opportunity for at ending their 17-year trophy drought has now passed, with the elimination loss at Liverpool last night. So now it’s on the other domestic cup competition, and with they’ll be, with apologies to Willie Nelson, “on the road again,” as a trip to Aston Villa awaits.

“We’ll go out there on Sunday and put out more of a performance that reflects where we’re at,” embattled manager Ange Postecoglou said.

FA Cup 4th Round FYIs

Tottenham Hotspur at Aston Villa

Kickoff: Sun. Feb. 9, 5:35pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK

Team News: Tottenham Aston Villa

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Aston Villa

Fun Fact: Spurs have won five of their last six FA Cup ties against Aston Villa, with the last L coming in 1992

“I have a great deal of belief in these players and what they’re going through and how they’re dealing with it.”

Having reached the semifinals of the League Cup gave Postecoglu some leeway to work with, while the calls for his sacking increase. But now that Spurs are out of that competition, the pressure on him will only increase.

Tottenham Starting XI Prediction at Aston Villa (FA Cup 4th Round)

Antonin Kinský, Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Ben Davies, Djed Spence, Lucas Bergvall, Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, Dejan Kulusevski, Mathys Tel, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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As they say in the hip-hop community, “can’t stop, won’t stop.” That phrase would certainly apply to the Tottenham Hotspur injury situation as a whole this season, and for striker Richarlison in particular.

The Brazilian went off injured in stoppage time of the 4-0 loss at Anfield last night.

FA Cup 4th Round FYIs

Tottenham Hotspur at Aston Villa

Kickoff: Sun. Feb. 9, 5:35pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK

Team News: Tottenham Aston Villa

Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Aston Villa

Fun Fact: Spurs have won nine of their last ten at Villa, across all competitions

Spurs Team News

“It’s disappointing for him and he was emotional last night because he worked really hard to get himself back,” under fire manager Ange Postecoglou said of Richarlison and his lower leg injury on Thursday night. “It’s another setback that he’s going to have to deal with, we’re going to have to deal with. Hopefully get him back as soon as possible.”

Richarlison, who has been very vocal about the challenges that he deals with from a mental health stand point, has had a flurry of physical health problems in the past few years as well.

Since moving over from Everton in 2022, Richarlison has dealt with calf, groin, knee and hamstring injuries.

Also sidelined for the Aston Villa clash on Sunday are the following players: James Maddison, Timo Werner, Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner and Dominic Solanke.

Postecoglu did not provide a status update on any of the players in the aforementioned group, but he did provide the media with some news on the condition of another sidelined player, Micky van de Ven.

And it wasn’t good.

“Micky got through the [Europa League] game with no problem, but he feels he’s not ready yet for the step up to the Premier League,” Postecoglu said of the central defender’s situation. “And after losing Radu (Dragusin), I’m not going to risk these guys.”

While no one comes off the injured list for this weekend, the Australian hopes that a couple guys will for the following weekend.

“We’re still hopeful we’ll get at least two or maybe three back for the Man United game,” Postecoglou said.

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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Tottenham Hotspur are in deep, deep trouble, in the Premier League, but at least they’re looking pretty good in the UEFA Europa League. IF Elfsborg come to town on Thursday, and this match provides a good chance for a win for the very much under-fire Ange Postecoglu.

And at this point, Tottenham will take any win they can get, in any way shape or form.

UEFA Europa League Matchday 8 of 8

Tottenham Hotspur vs IF Elfsborg

Kickoff: Thurs. Jan. 30, 8pm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK

Tottenham Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction

UCL Standings, Form: Tottenham Hotspur 6th, 14 pts, WLDDW IF Elfsborg 20th, 10 pts, LDLWW

Postecoglu will no doubt be given the chance to manage the team in the EFL Cup semifinals, regardless of what happens to the side in other competitions.

Spurs are up on the mighty mighty Liverpool FC in that one, 1-0 after the first leg, so with a realistic chance at a trophy, which doesn’t happen at THFC very often, it’s doubtful they’ll make a change before the second leg.

Spurs are currently slotted to go through to the next round of the UEL, without a playoff. But they’ll need a result here in order to stay in that position. Meanwhile IF Elfsborg are in the UEL playoff qualification slots, but they’ll need a result here in order to stay there.

So this should be a fiercely contested battle, as there is a lot on the line.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs IF Elfsborg

Antonin Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Radu Drăgușin, Archie Gray; Will Lankshear; Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr; Mikey Moore, Dejan Kulusevski; Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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When Ange Postecoglu fills out his team sheet at TSG 1889 Hoffenheim, or just Hoffenheim for short, he’ll just have to make do with what he has. Spurs are enduring a season-long injury crisis that is on par with, or maybe even worse than, Newcastle United and/or Chelsea last season.

UEFA Europa League Matchday 7 of 8

Tottenham Hotspur at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

Kickoff: Thursday, Jan. 23, 5:45pm, Rhein-Neckar Arena, Sinsheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Tottenham Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction

UEL Standing: Tottenham Hotspur 9th, 11 pts TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 26th, 6 pts,

UEL Form: Tottenham Hotspur WWLDD TSG 1899 Hoffenheim WLDLD

Injury after injury after injury has left Spurs in a place that in the Premier League table much closer to relegation than to UEFA competition qualification. The only reason this isn’t getting more attention is Manchester United. They are equally awful, if not more so.

Spurs have to be thankful for United, and their misery overshadowing Spurs’ mess.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction at Hoffenheim

Fraser Forster, Ben Davies, Radu Drăgușin, Archie Gray; Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr; James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski; Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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While Tottenham Hotspur have gotten results in the domestic cup competitions lately, they have just been atrocious in the Premier League. They’ll enter the trip to Everton FC sitting 14th in the table and having lost four of their last five fixtures, with the other result being a draw.

They are far out of contention from qualifying for any of the UEFA competition slots for next season.

Tottenham Hotspur at Everton FC FYIs

Tottenham Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News

At least their opponent on Sunday are an even bigger mess, as Everton FC sit further down the table than Spurs. So that should help in the cause of ending this dry patch.

Tottenham will also get to play their second choice goalkeeper for this one, instead of their third string option, which has been the case lately.

Fraser Forster has now resumed training, so he should be good to go for this one. Ben Davies is back in training too, so he might be available for selection as well.

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction at Everton FC

Fraser Forster, Pedro Porro, Radu Drăgușin, Archie Gray, Djed Spence, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominick Solanke, Heung-Min Son

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.

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