Tottenham Hotspur vs. Coventry City Premier League Preview
In some ways, Tottenham Hotspur can feel like it left points on the table after outplaying Manchester United for much of the match, but at the same time the one point earned was technically a heroic rescue. Obviously moral victories provide no solace given the state of the club, though how Spurs feel about that Old Trafford draw will be heavily impacted by how Monday's performance plays out.
Roberto De Zerbi desperately needs a win, and one would think a home fixture against Coventry City offers a great chance for one. Frank Lampard's squad has won two in a row, however, and Tottenham has won just five of its past 12 contests against newly promoted sides, owning a tragic 2-2-2 record in North London in these scenarios.
Both sides probably come into this clash feeling better than they did a few matchweeks ago, especially following Coventry's big win over Newcastle. I keep on (foolishly) waiting for everything to click into place for Spurs, but know the narratives run against this Monday night showdown being profitable, even if the analytics like the home side.
Who knows, though, maybe this is exactly the right time! Match Details Date: Monday, October 19 Time: 3:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London TV: USA Network (US), Sky Sports Main Event (UK) It actually was just a couple of seasons ago when these teams last played, with Tottenham escaping the Third Round of the League Cup with a 2-1 win after falling behind.
A rotated Spurs squad fell behind with just 30 minutes remaining, but very late goals from Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson avoided catastrophe on the road. Optimistically seeing opportunities Coventry has conceded 11 goals through six league matches, though eight of those came in just two contests.
Where, then, does optimism come from? Well, this is still not a great defense by any means, and there have been so many green shoots coming from the Tottenham attack lately.
Every single match I say the goals are bound to come at some point, and there is no difference this Monday. Coventry will likely be cautious defensively, but even in the past two wins, opponents were the ones ending with better xG.
Savio and Omar Marmoush were brought in to be able to unlock these sorts of defenses, and maybe just maybe Dominic Solanke can start converting more as well. On the other end, Coventry does not seem overly intimidating, especially away from home, having scored just once in three tries.
In fact, four of the six league fixtures have ended up without a single goal (where have I heard that before…) and the Newcastle beatdown feels like an extreme outlier. This is not a great opponent and one De Zerbi absolutely must handle.