Tottenham Hotspur bounced back from a dull draw with Bournemouth by beating Arsenal 2-1 at home. Toby Alderweireld headed a late winner to clinch the victory in a hotly-contested north London derby. Spurs had struggled for form beforehand, after they slumped to a disappointing defeat to Sheffield United, edged past Everton, and took away only a point from the Vitality Stadium. However, the Lilywhites seem to have turned things around, as they came from behind to climb above their arch rivals into eighth in the Premier League. Jose Mourinho will know his side face an almost impossible task to reach the top four, as they are currently nine points behind fifth-placed Manchester United, with only three games remaining. As it stands, a spot in the Europa League is still up for grabs, and he will be looking to make a statement when Spurs travel to Newcastle United on Wednesday night. Transfer Tavern have put together a predicted starting lineup, which sees Mourinho mess around with the side that beat Arsenal, as Erik Lamela and Steven Bergwijn return. It was obvious right from the start that Mourinho had set his team up completely differently when Spurs welcomed Arsenal to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. As Alasdair Gold pointed out, Moussa Sissoko was pushed out wide, while Lucas Moura started on the left. Moura effectively played as a wing-back and the Portuguese worked out a way to neutralise Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin. Dele Alli has missed the past three games after suffering a knee injury in training, and whether or not he will have recovered in time to meet the Magpies remains to be seen. Spurs also line up against Leicester City at the weekend and Mourinho may choose to rest him for the pivotal clash. Working on the assumption that he will not be fit to face Newcastle, it is likely Spurs will stick to the 4-4-1-1 formation. Eric Dier is in the middle of a four game ban, so Davinson Sanchez and Toby Alderweireld will renew their partnership in front of Hugo Lloris, while Ben Davies lines up alongside his teammates. Serge Aurier’s brother Christopher was killed earlier this week and Mourinho has made it clear he will let him decide if he wants to play so soon after his brother’s murder. As Kyle Walker-Peters is on loan at Southampton, Spurs do not have another designated right-back, and the head coach has been considering Gedson Fernandes, Oliver Skipp and Sissoko as possible alternatives. Sissoko is the most experienced player out of the trio and he may get the nod on the right flank. With a bigger game against the Foxes at the weekend, Mourinho may want to give Moura some time off. Both Steven Bergwijn and Erik Lamela could come into the side instead, with Lamela replacing Sissoko further up-field. Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks have formed a promising partnership in the heart of the midfield and the duo worked hard in front of the two centre-backs. It is hard to imagine Mourinho will want to break the pair up, particularly as he is currently embroiled in a public spat with Tanguy Ndombele. The club’s record signing has barely featured since the Premier League restart and stands to miss out once again when Tottenham take on the Toon, which doesn’t bode well for his future. Meanwhile, Harry Kane was relieved to finally have a strike partner up front, and he will look to resume his healthy rivalry with Son Heung-min at the top of the pitch. Tottenham fans, do you think this is how Mourinho will start against Newcastle? Let us know down below! Click here to comment on this articleorGive us feedback on your Football Transfer Tavern experience #DavinsonSanchez #TottenhamHotspur #SergeAurier

Tottenham Hotspur slumped to a disappointing defeat to Sheffield United last week but they only had themselves to blame. The Blades took advantage of one of the worst defensive displays in recent memory as Tottenham could not contain Sander Berge, Lys Mousset and Oli McBurnie. Spurs bounced back with a 1-0 win over Everton, although they were largely untested in a dull affair at home. Alan Hutton insists the Lilywhites have looked “frail” at the back this season and this is one area they desperately need to improve sooner rather than later. Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Spurs star ripped into the defence after a string of “schoolboy” errors at Bramall Lane. Hutton can’t believe Jose Mourinho hasn’t given Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld another chance as he feels the veterans are “world-class” players. He told assistant editor Russell Edge “I think Alderweireld and Vertonghen, when they’re on top of their game, they’re a world-class partnership. It just feels something’s gone on there for them not to be playing. “Tottenham looked frail, especially the Sheffield United game, they looked really bad. It’s obvious where they need to strengthen and that’s the backline in my opinion. It was really disappointing. “I just think the defending in the Sheffield United game, even when I think about it now, it’s schoolboy stuff. It’s just covering, matching your runners, stopping one-twos – it’s simple, the basics of being a defender just weren’t there. “He could have changed the full back-four against Everton, Sanchez got pulled out of the firing line.” It is difficult to disagree with the pundit on this one, as the Lilywhites have leaked goals for fun all season so far. Spurs have conceded more goals than Arsenal, Manchester United and Premier League champions Liverpool. Mourinho stuck with the same back four for the first three games since the Premier League restart. Although Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen watched from the sidelines as they picked up their first clean sheet in 10 games, Alderweireld was called into action on Monday night. He replaced Davinson Sanchez in the starting lineup and immediately made a massive difference as Spurs kept another clean sheet. However, this merely papers over the cracks, as they have still conceded four goals in the last four fixtures. The Portuguese seemed to have settled on his first-choice pairing but now appears to have changed his mind. Eric Dier, who was a favourite of Mauricio Pochettino, has established himself as a regular starter since football resumed last month. Alderweireld has actually earned a higher WhoScored rating than Dier this season, although there isn’t much between them. While Vertonghen seems to be embroiled in a power struggle with the Portuguese, Alderweireld signed acontract extension in December, keeping him at the club until 2023. He admitted Mourinho’s appointment influenced his decision to sign a new deal. The Lilywhites have looked dodgy at the back and they will need to be at their very best if they are to stand any hope of reaching the top four. Mourinho knows this is an area he needs to improve if Spurs are to challenge for silverware next season. However, Daniel Levy has made it clear he will not be spending heavily in the summer, and his budget has been severely slashed. As it stands, Mourinho will have to make do with what he has got, while also pursuing swap deals and free agents in the transfer window. Tottenham fans, do you think Mourinho should give Alderweireld and Vertonghen another chance? Let us know down below! Click here to comment on this articleorGive us feedback on your Football Transfer Tavern experience #TobyAlderweireld #TottenhamHotspur #DavinsonSanchez

Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold has revealed that Davinson Sanchez is in a “strange situation” at Tottenham at the moment. WHAT DID HE SAY? The Colombia international has made 32 appearances across all competitions this season, but Gold believes that Jose Mourinho’s arrival as manager, and the competition he faces at centre-back, means he faces a real fight to remain a key part of the starting eleven. He said: “The Colombian is in a strange situation at Spurs. He was the club record signing and had a manager in Mauricio Pochettino who believed he could be one of the best centre-backs in the world. Now he has a manager in Mourinho who admitted his Manchester United team targeted Sanchez in the Europa League final as the weak link in the Ajax defence due to his technical ability or lack of. BEST OF THE DECADE: TOP SCORERS & CREATORS – CAN YOU NAME THEM? WORLD CLASS SCORE: 95% | EXPERT SCORE: 80% | VETERAN SCORE: 65% | INTERMEDIATE SCORE: 45% | AMATEUR SCORE: 30% | TRY AGAIN: 5% “Eric Dier declaring his future is in defence, the emergence of Japhet Tanganga and Toby Alderweireld signing a new deal and being a Mourinho favourite means Sanchez will have to fight for the head coach’s affection in the weeks ahead. If Mourinho can improve his ability with the ball then Sanchez offers the most complete option in defence with pace and strength, but he will have to earn his spot with the way he responds to the Portuguese.” COMPETITION With Jan Vertonghen looking set to leave the club come the end of the season, Sanchez will have one less player to compete with for one of the starting centre-back roles at Tottenham. But as Gold alludes to, the Colombian was actually targeted by Mourinho as the weak link in Ajax’s defence during Manchester United’s Europa League final clash against the Dutch side. Speaking back in the summer of 2017, the current Spurs boss revealed: “We let them go out to play, but blocking the right center, (Matthijs) de Ligt, and letting the ball go to the left, Sánchez, who had more difficulties.” It remains to be seen whether Mourinho now sees Sanchez as someone who he can coach into a top-class central defender, or whether he will now place his faith in the likes of Dier and Tanganga to partner Alderweireld. #AlasdairGold #DavinsonSanchez #JoseMourinho

Tottenham fans have taken to Twitter to tear into Davinson Sanchez for his performance against Manchester City on Sunday. The former Ajax man – who cost a then club-record fee of £42m when signed from the Dutch giants – was making his 17th Premier League start of the campaign, but proceeded to deliver a nervy display. The 28-cap Colombia international appeared shaky against Pep Guardiola’s side, with one first-half moment in particular seeing him stand still next to the ball waiting for Hugo Lloris to come out and claim it, only for him to lash it away in panic towards the feet of Kevin De Bruyne. It wasn’t a calamitous performance entirely from the 23-year-old, although it also wasn’t one that oozed assurance. Sanchez didn’t win a single aerial duel against the reigning Premier League champions, while having one unsuccessful touch and also failing to find a teammate with three of his attempted long balls. However, he did make three tackles, two interceptions, nine clearances and a block, so it was still a resolute display from Tottenham No.6. Let’s see how the Spurs fans on Twitter reacted to his display… Anyone still defending Sanchez at this point? Boy is an absolute clown in the one position you cant afford to be #thfc — Clayton Hodges (@clayski123) February 2, 2020 Don’t tell me that Sanchez is a good defender. Twice in a min he gave the ball straight to a City shirt. He’s a car crash waiting to happen #TOTMCI #THFC — Fizzer (@Fizzer66325755) February 2, 2020 To kick off the reaction, Clayton Hughes asked if anyone was still defending Sanchez at this point, before calling the centre-back a “clown in the one position you can’t afford to be” – ouch. Fizzer then added that the Colombian is “a car crash waiting to happen”. Sanchez is average, I don’t know why people think differently. — Nad (@nad_THFC) February 2, 2020 Sanchez all over the place. 🙈 #thfc #coys — Aaron Gratton (@ABGratton24) February 2, 2020 Elsewhere, another couple of Tottenham supporters had some negative words for the Caloto-born player. Nad called him “average” whereas Aaron said that Sanchez was “all over the place” against Manchester City. Sanchez really isn’t a footballer is he? #COYS — Billy Nats (@billynats) February 2, 2020 Sanchez is atrocious. #coys — Bradley smith (@bradleysmith28) February 2, 2020 Lastly, Billy Nats went in hard on the Mauricio Pochettino signing by saying that he “really isn’t a footballer”. Also, Bradley Smith then stated that Sanchez is “atrocious” – short, simple and hard-hitting. CALLING ALL TRANSFER EXPERTS! HOW MUCH DID EACH OF THESE DEADLINE DAY SIGNINGS COST? In other news, these Tottenham fans weren’t happy with an “utterly pathetic” moment against Guardiola’s side… #DavinsonSanchez #PremierLeague #ManchesterCity

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