Not too long ago, this was looking to be a massive week for the #narratives surrounding Tottenham Hotspur. Last weekend it was Thomas Frank’s struggling side facing off against the place that he should never have left, while this weekend it was a fixture against Nottingham Forest, who employed Nuno Espirito Santo for four times as many matches as Spurs, then sacked him for the Lilywhites’ first trophy-winning manager in nearly two decades.
Instead, Frank got past Brentford, apparently solved the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium problem, and now sees his club facing neither of its previous managers at the City Ground. Instead, Sean Dyche has arrived to save Forest from relegation, though there is a long way yet to go for his team which currently sits in 16th place. This has been a good past week, but everything can crash back down quickly.
Date: Sunday, December 14
Time: 9:00 am ET, 3:00 pm UK
Location: The City Ground, Nottingham
TV: Peacock (US), Sky Sports Football (UK)
Table: Forest (t-16th, 15 pts), Spurs (t-11th, 22 pts)
Nuno’s side beat Ange’s in both contests last season. Boxing Day saw Forest hang on for a 1-0 win at home that featured more Tottenham red cards than xG. The reverse fixture landed in April right as Spurs were beating Frankfurt in the Europa quarters, with Forest scoring twice in the first 20 minutes and riding it out from there; Richarlison scored late, but it was not enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat.
Is the away form faltering? While Spurs have won consecutive home matches (across all competitions) for just the second time all season, the results on the road have suddenly soured quite drastically. Now, Forest is nothing like Newcastle (twice), Arsenal, or PSG, but Tottenham’s performance away from home is really the only reason it has not dropped to a dangerous part of the table.
Wins against West Ham, Leeds, and Everton should give Frank confidence in his side’s ability to handle these environments and recognize the opportunity of playing against this sort of opposition in a context that might leave them a little more open. Dyche is not going to be as wild as his predecessor, but one would expect some action on both ends of the pitch, which would seemingly suit the visitors.
Is the new manager bounce dissipating? Speaking of Dyche, the shine has started to wear off a bit at the City Ground. After starting 2-1-1 in the league, including a draw against United and 3-0 win over Liverpool, he has lost two of the last three, beating only Wolves. Forest looked bad against Everton last weekend, being outplayed and physically overmatched by Dyche’s previous outfit.
However, results in the Europa League have been much better, and — perhaps like Postecoglou — that is where Dyche will focus. Thursday brought yet another positive result, beating Utrecht on the road, and maybe that inspires the play this weekend. Still, it is clear that Forest will have a long road ahead domestically this season, and hosting Spurs might not be the time to push in all the chips.
Is Frank still tinkering? It has been fun to check the lineups ahead of each recent match, truly having no idea who Frank will choose and where he will place them. It must be said that he is seemingly acting much more strategically, and more often than not he is making better decisions. How Frank sets up away from home compared to his last two XIs will be interesting to see.
Two key places to watch for me: First, central midfield, where Archie Gray has suddenly become a preferred option. Does Frank stay with the promising youngster, or will he revert back to the Joao Palhinha-Rodrigo Bentancur pairing on the road? Secondly, how aggressive will he be up top? Can both Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons be deployed, leading to more of a free-flowing contest? Is the Randal Kolo Muani-Richarlison pairing too attacking and potentially narrow? Tune in Sunday to see!
