News

Tranmere Attempt To Upset Tottenham In FA Cup

While the Premier League may be back underway, it always seems as if there’s always another competition waiting in the wings to begin. In this instance it’s the FA Cup and without sounding too pro wrestling – we’re All In on it. While it may have lost some of its mystique over the years it’s still considered to be one of the very best club competitions in the world, mainly because it always throws up a fun surprise or two. Some would argue that isn’t always the case and that the reward for winning it needs to be improved, but at the end of the day, we’re just happy to watch it all unfold.

One of the games that we’re particularly excited for will take place between Tranmere Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur. On one hand you’ve got a fourth tier underdog, still trying to come to grips with their return to the Football League. On the other, you’ve got an absolute juggernaut of European football that doesn’t seem to be slowing down. What you’ve then got, at the core of it all, is one of the most exciting match-ups of third round weekend. Oh, and we aren’t just saying that for the sake of it.

As we noted Tranmere have slowly been making their way back ‘from the brink’ so to speak, and when you consider the reputation and quality of the teams around them, it’s about time. That obviously has no real impact on what they do, but you’d have to imagine they look up to the likes of Everton and Liverpool for inspiration. After all, these are the kinds of teams that are actually playing Spurs on a regular basis, whereas Tranmere likely won’t get the opportunity to do this again for a very long time. That’s not us being mean, that’s just us being honest.

For Tottenham Hotspur it feels like they’re almost destined to have a thoroughly successful season, despite what the masses would have you believe. Sure, they’ve got a tendency to drop the ball from time to time, but Mauricio Pochettino knows how to get the best out of his squad when it matters the most. Some will try and debate that until they’re blue in the face but the results speak for themselves, and as we look ahead to this game, it feels like they know they’ll need to make a really emphatic statement at the expense of Tranmere.

The last six game stretch for Rovers hasn’t exactly been easy, although given where they were last season, the fact that they’re in the playoff hunt is a miracle in itself. They kicked off this latest spell with a 3-2 loss to Notts County, before bouncing back with a 2-0 triumph over Southport in their FA Cup Second Round tie. Their inconsistency continued with a 2-1 defeat against Bury before beating Morecambe 3-1, and in the build up to this one, they managed to pick up back to back draws against Yeoivl and Macclesfield. Unremarkable, perhaps, but at least they’re riding a three game unbeaten run.

Tottenham, on the other hand, have been rampant with a dash of disappointment. They managed to win four games in a row against Burnley, Arsenal, Everton and Bournemouth, scoring 14 goals in the process. That’s the kind of form that champions are made of, but they managed to come crashing back down to earth in style with a 3-1 loss against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Most recently, though, on New Year’s Day, they reminded the world why they’re amongst the best in the country by tearing through Cardiff City 3-0. Of course, things will be a little bit different in this one when it comes to the quality of opposition – but how will they handle that?

The overall head to head standings between the two sides shouldn’t come as all too much of a surprise to fans, with Spurs leading 6-0 with two draws. Despite so few games occurring between the two, though, their history goes back quite far. Their first meeting took place back in 1938 and as you can imagine, things have been fairly sporadic since then. The last game between the two teams was also in the FA Cup and it happened in February 2002, and it’s fair to say a lot has changed since then.

This is the kind of game that every single Tranmere Rovers player will be eager to play in, but unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Oliver Banks is battling to get to full fitness after his recent surgery, but there are still question marks over whether or not he’ll get the nod. Evan Gumbs is one man who will unfortunately be ruled out, although when you look at the rest of their squad, it would seem as if they’ve got a lot of options on the table. Many feel like they’ll go with a back three, too, in order to maximise the frustration when it comes to breaking them down.

Vincent Janssen, Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama are three names that immediately jump off the page as absences, with Serge Aurier likely being a game day decision. It’s no secret that there’s a good chance Pochettino could rotate some new players in, because if he’s going to do it at any point, this seems like the perfect game to choose. Skipp, Moura, Llorente, Gazzaniga, Foyth and Walker-Peters are all said to be in the running for a start, and they’ll all be desperate to prove themselves against the lower leaguers.

Tranmere vs Tottenham Betting Prediction

This isn’t exactly going to be your typical game, because Tranmere will have to come in with a very specific game plan if they want to legitimately get the upset done. We think they’re going to sit back and try to hit Spurs on the counter, which is probably the best tactic they could go for. They’ll need to thrive off of the atmosphere generated under the lights from their fans, and if they can do that, then they’ll essentially have a 12th man out there based on the evidence from past David vs Goliath encounters in this competition.

We’re going to go out on a limb here and suggest that it’ll be goalless heading into the second half, too, which is an achievement in itself. When push comes to shove, though, Spurs will score a few goals in quick succession before riding out the result to progress into the next round. They’ll certainly have gained some respect for Tranmere, though, especially if the home side keep it close. Either way it should be a lot of fun to watch, and it’s that what the FA Cup is all about?