With 1 win in 7 league matches, this is surely a must-win match for us, especially Pochettino. We have been unconvincing so far under him. So, he better start winning some matches before Levy gets angry. Besides, we better start winning before getting pulled into the relegation zone. We have had excellent results over Villa in recent years. In fact, we have won our last 5 matches against Villa without conceding a goal and scoring 15. So, there is no excuse whatsoever why we cannot win this match. But we have failed to win matches we were expected to win so far this season. Hope we will turn up for this match and get that all important win.
Lamela did well to help us get that win against Brighton. It was nice to see Lamela getting his 3rd goal in the Cup competitions. Now, he needs to get that elusive goal in the league to boost his confidence. I think Kane deserves to start this match after his excellent goal run in Cup matches. But his lack of experience in the league might hinder him. Personally, I prefer Soldado to start even if he has not been convincing so far. I think Soldado, just like Lamela, badly needs a goal in the league to improve his form.
I think this match will be won or lost in midfield. We need more creativity and ruthlessness in midfield. Hope the likes of Eriksen will open up the chances for us. Eriksen has done well to score 3 goals so far. But he needs to create the chances for us as well. Wish we have a better defensive midfielder than Capoue. Stambouli did well against Brighton but has struggled in league matches. Hope Stambouli will start performing for us in league matches if given the chance here. I would prefer Dembele to start in midfield ahead of Mason. I think we need to be more compact in midfield away from home.
Our defence has been really disappointing this season. We are badly struggling to keep a clean sheet nowadays. Hope we can keep one here. I think we need to play Vertonghen with someone less error-prone than Kaboul. Anyway, hope we will avoid any silly mistakes in defence. We cannot afford to give up stupid goals if we want to win this match.
We are now just 3 point ahead of the relegation zone. So, we badly need to win this match to improve our league standings. Hope we will put up a convincing performance and win.