The pressure is on Ange Postecoglou after their 1-0 defeat away to Bournemouth in midweek and things may not get any easier for Tottenham as they host Chelsea on Sunday.
The Blues are joint-second in the table and are the top-scorers in the Premier League. Enzo Maresca’s side visit a Spurs team that are in the midst of an injury crisis defensively and have won just one of their last six games in all competitions.
Ange Postecoglou acknowledged the boos from Tottenham’s away end after the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth and the manager needs to find a way to turn around Spurs’ form with one hand tied behind his back due to injuries.
First choice central defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are injured and backup Ben Davies limped off against the Cherries, meaning right-back Pedro Porro had to fill in.
Spurs are also without goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur and star youngster Mikey Moore.
With so many of their first-team players missing it is no wonder that Spurs have struggled but Postecoglou’s failure to have an adequate backup plan may be making things worse.
They will be tested to their absolute limit by a Tottenham team that have hit the ground running under Enzo Maresca.
After their 5-1 win over Southampton in midweek, the Blues are now second in the league behind Liverpool and are ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City at present.
Their big spending spree was criticised as poor squad planning but it does mean that they do have quality options in their team and have found the net with regularity this term, scoring 31 in 14 games.
Their forwards will be licking their lips at the sight of Tottenham’s makeshift backline.
To add to Tottenham’s injury worries, Chelsea also have a rock-solid record in the recent head-to-heads between these two, particularly at Tottenham.
The visitors have won four of their last five trips to face their London rivals in all competitions and the Lilywhites have failed to score in three of those games.
In Cole Palmer, Chelsea have one of the most in-form players in the division and with Spurs missing many of their key defenders, the visitors could run riot.
Postecoglou has been unlucky with injuries but the pressure does seem to be rising on the manager and it may ram up even more with an away win.
The performances of Cole Palmer this season have distracted somewhat from the impressive campaign that Nicolas Jackson is having.
After receiving plenty of criticism last season, the Senegalese striker has eight goals in 13 league games and his pace in behind could be crucial against Spurs’ high line.
Side with Jackson to add to his goal tally on this trip to north London.
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