- Oct 17, 2006
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SPURS 4-0 SHEFFIELD UNITED
Bale (3), Son
Bale (3), Son
Spurs: Lloris (c), Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon, Hojbjerg, Lo Celso (Winks), Dele (Lamela), Bale (Bergwijn), Son, Kane.
Subs: Hart, Doherty, Sanchez, Ndombele, Sissoko, Lucas.
Sheffield: Ramsdale, Bogle, Baldock, Egan (c), Basham, Stevens, Norwood, Osborn, Fleck, McGoldrick, Brewster.
Subs: Foderingham, Lundstram, Berge, Mousset, Lowe, Burke, Jagielka, Robinson, Gordon.
Official Site Match Centre
Two changes from the cup final last week with Dele and Bale coming in for Winks and Lucas.
REFEREE: -- -----Andre Mariner ???????
TEAM FORM:-------- Spurs DLDWL ---------- Sheffield LLLLW ------- (All competitions)
We will be hoping to put our League Cup final heartache behind us and concentrate on qualifying for the top four when we host basement club Sheffield United in the Premier League on Sunday evening. We have won four of our last five league matches on home soil, while the Blades have claimed just four points from a possible 48 available on the road this campaign, the fewest in the division.
Our wait to lift our first major trophy since 2008 goes on, as we narrowly lost 1-0 to Manchester City in the League Cup final last weekend. Eight thousand fans were welcomed back to Wembley for the first English cup final of the 2020-21 campaign, which saw Laporte head home the only goal of the game eight minutes from time, to help City lift the trophy for a record-equaling fourth time in succession. The decision to sack Jose – a manager who boasts an impressive track record in cup finals – and replace him with 29-year-oldRyan Mason was a gamble by Levy that did not pay off, although regardless as to who sat in the dugout for us, defeating Man City was always set to be a difficult challenge. We – who have now lost six of our last seven domestic cup matches at Wembley – rarely threatened City throughout the 90 minutes, striking just two shots on goal, in stark contrast to the 21 attempts that Guardiola's men had. However, Mason was not to blame according to Jamie Carragher, who claimed that “our players lacked courage and bottled it” in the final.
Courage is one attribute we now need if we are to have any chance of sneaking into the top four; we currently sit in 7th, five points behind London rivals Chelsea, who occupy the final Champions League position, with only five games remaining. We have relied heavily on the brilliance of Kane this campaign, but we were able to cope without him for our last Premier League match when we came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 thanks to a strike from former Saints man Bale and a late penalty converted by Son. Kane, who has been involved in 34 goals in 30 Premier League games this season, will be available this weekend and is sure to be a key figure spearheading the attack as we head down the home straight.
Three of our last five league games are on home soil, where we have won four of our last five matches, scoring 13 goals in the process. In addition, we have scored at least once in each of our last 10 top-flight fixtures, the longest current run in the competition. Mason is under enormous pressure to spark an immediate revival for us and a victory on Sunday against the league's lowest ranked side is imperative if our hopes of Champions League football next season are to stay alive.
The confirmation of Sheffield United's relegation from the Premier League seemingly lifted the weight off of their shoulders last weekend, as they claimed a 1-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Bramall Lane. McGoldrick capitalised on Brighton's calamitous defending inside the area to sweep home his seventh goal of the season after 19 minutes, which proved to be enough for the Blades to claim just their fifth league win this campaign. Interim manager Paul Heckingbottom, who recorded his first points since replacing hris Wilder in March, was pleased to see the fight that the players showed, even though their fate had already been sealed and he is now "determined to enjoy" the final five games in the top-flight.
Sheffield United kept only their third clean sheet all season against the Seagulls, although goalkeeper Ramsdale travels to us having failed to keep a clean sheet in any of his last 26 away starts in the Premier League. If the 22-year-old fails to do so on Sunday, it will be the longest such run by a goalkeeper in the competition's history, beating the record held by former West Bromwich Albion stopper Russell Hoult between 2003 and 2005.
The Blades are winless in all four of their Premier League away games against us, although they did draw their last meeting 1-1 at White Hart Lane in November 2019. They have lost all five of their league games in London this season by an aggregate score of 12-2; their last win in the capital was in February 2020 when they secured a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace. Claiming all three points against us fighting for the top four is unlikely, but Heckingbottom will be keen to make sure that his players replicate the fight they showed last weekend.
Head to Head
We have played each other 93 times with our first meeting being on 20th April 1901, which was an FA Cup tie with the second leg 7 days later on 27th April 1901, where won 3-1 after drawing the first leg 2-2. Of the 93 games, we have won 37 games, they have won 29 and 27 have been drawn in all competitions. The 93 games have all been in the League except for 4 times in the FA Cup. Of the 4, we had only won one, with them winning two and one drawn. We have not faced each other in any other competition.
Team News
Sheffield United strikers Billy Sharpe and Oli McBurnie are ruled out for the rest of the season with respective thigh and foot injuries, while the three Jacks, O’Connell, Robinson and Rodwell also remain on the treatment table. Chris Basham and Sander Berge are both stepping up their fitness training and are hoping to feature before the end of the campaign, but they are unlikely to feature at our ground. Heckingbottom is not expected to make too many changes to the starting lineup that beat Brighton last weekend, but Chelsea loanee Ethan Ampadu could be one player who is recalled to the side at the expense of Jaydon Bogle.
This could see Baldock move from the back three and into a more natural right wing-back role, with Enda Stevens set to start on the opposite flank. Rhian Brewster, who is yet to score for the Blades since joining the club last summer, could keep his place up front alongside McGoldrick.
After missing the victory against Southampton with an ankle problem, Kane played 90 minutes in the League Cup final and is expected to start up front on Sunday. Full-backs Davies (calf) and Doherty (muscle) are both set to miss out with injuries, which could therefore see Mason start the same back four – Aurier, Toby, Dier, and Reguilon – that he named for his first two games in charge. Dele will be hoping for more regular game time in the post-Mourinho era and a game against the league's lowest ranked side could be a good fixture for Mason to hand the midfielder a start. However, either Lo-Celso or Ndombele will be more likely to get the nod for us on Sunday. Kane is set to be joined in attack by Son, while Moura could face competition from Bale and Lamela to keep his place in our first XI.
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