Sunderland vs. Tottenham: Key Issues That Will Shape the Premier League Game
Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur resume their Premier League campaigns at the Stadium of Light this weekend.
The home side are still looking for their first league win of the season. Meanwhile, the visitors will want to bounce back from a 3-0 loss to Liverpool prior to the international break.
The key issues that could shape this game are—given we have not yet passed mid-September—still naturally early-season centric.
Both teams are still attempting to establish a satisfactory groove for the year. A process that, for at least the immediate future, will be affected by attempts to integrate late-transfer window signings.
"We took the break naturally because everyone is in the same situation but I would like to say that in normal conditions I would prefer not to stop," Gus Poyet told Oscar Chamberlain of Sunderland's official website. "However, we are very lucky because everybody came back fit and they are all very happy because they performed very well."
Mauricio Pochettino told his pre-match press conference on Wednesday he and his coaching staff had used the international break to rewatch Spurs' previous game multiple times. Despite enduring disappointment at the defeat, the Argentinian declared himself satisfied with his side's continued development.
"We are a team that need to learn, need to improve. We are under a new philosophy. I am happy in the way that we are."
Just who will be happier on Saturday evening could depend on how the following issues play out.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Tottenham Will Want to Avoid Getting into a Bad-Start Habit Again
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"The more important thing is that we analyse the first seven minutes because this was the key in the game."
So said Pochettino on Thursday, reflecting on the early goal scored by Liverpool's Raheem Sterling a couple of weeks ago. Tottenham being put under immediate pressure in a game because of a slow start, sound familiar?
"I keep finding myself coming in here and saying the same thing. We started slow again, and we have got to find out the reason why."
That was then-Spurs boss Tim Sherwood, via The Independent's Simon Peach, reflecting on his side almost being punished in similar circumstances at home to Everton last February. Slow starts had been problematic for Spurs that winter and would continue to be so over the remainder of the campaign.
It would be premature to assume it has become a problem again under the new head coach just yet. Pochettino was also keen to note the Liverpool game was just one match.
Still, given many of the players still involved were also there last season, it is a potential issue Spurs cannot afford to neglect.
Poyet and Sunderland have shown they are capable of taking advantage of hesitant or sleepy starts.
In April, Lee Cattermole took advantage of such lax defending to give the Black Cats a 1-0 lead at White Hart Lane within the opening 20 minutes (though they would eventually lose 5-1). The same player was even quicker off the mark in the 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion last month.
"We need to make sure we are at our best and control the game as much as we can whilst being clinical in front of goal," Poyet told Chamberlain.
He will almost certainly urge his team to implement this thinking right from the off on Saturday.
Both Teams Are Still Searching for Consistency in the Creativity Department
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As tallied by BBC Sport in their match report of the game against Liverpool, Tottenham ended up with 60 per cent of possession in their loss. Yet, as anyone who saw the game will not be surprised to hear, the shooting statistics were decidedly in the Reds' favour: 17-7 for shots, 8-1 for attempts on target.
Statistics do not always represent the nuance of a match. As a broad representation of Spurs' performance, though, they are accurate here.
The north Londoners huffed and puffed but struggled to find their way through an organised and motivated Liverpool defence.
The capabilities of this Spurs attack were seen in their 4-0 win over Queens Park Rangers. Individual moments of quality combined with good movements and purposeful running, best demonstrated in both of Nacer Chadli's goals.
Spurs are still searching for ways of creating when circumstances are not in their favour, though. Be it against tougher teams such as Liverpool or in difficult situations—away at London rivals West Ham United and down to 10 men on opening day springs to mind.
The combination of Eric Dier and Harry Kane saw Spurs come good in the end at Upton Park. That persistence, indeed that positivity (as seen in Dier chancing his luck so far forward), need to become the norm if they are to consistently get the best out of the array of attacking talent at Pochettino's disposal.
Sunderland are still fine-tuning their attacking department this season.
Without last season's influential loan performer Fabio Borini, they will need Adam Johnson again to come to the fore, as well as midfielders Cattermole, Sebastian Larsson and Jack Rodwell (all of whom have scored already this season).
For the north-east club to survive, let alone thrive, they will need more from their strikers, too—ideally beginning against Spurs.
Connor Wickham is off the mark this season in the Capital One Cup, but he and Steven Fletcher are still attempting to get into gear in the league. They, along with the talented but unfulfilled Jozy Altidore, have to work at improving on last season's combined goal tally of 12 (though Wickham's late flourish after his return from loan bodes well).
The Introductions of New Signings for Both Teams
3 of 3Sunderland made one of the more intriguing deadline-day signings: Internazionale attacker Ricky Alvarez on a season-long loan.
The 26-year-old had his moments in Milan, but he never quite happily settled. Should things click in England, though, the Black Cats could have quite a useful talent on their hands.
Poyet evaluated to Chamberlain (also in the above video): "Ricky is an exciting player to watch, he is technically gifted and he can do things with the ball that the rest maybe cannot with that last pass, assist or option. Sometimes when a team drops deep it becomes difficult to break them down but he has the ability to break those lines and give us something special."
While noting his past inconsistencies, The Guardian's Michael Cox praised Alvarez's counter-attacking ability, and he predicted where he might be involved against Tottenham: "Nevertheless, Gus Poyet is likely to give Alvarez an opportunity to impress, and he seems best for the left-sided role in Sunderland's 4-3-3—it would be a huge risk to base the side around him in a 4-2-3-1."
Alvarez immediately contributing would be a big boost for Sunderland, who, as noted on the previous page, are still finding their way in attack this season. Long term, he will be expected to pitch in on both sides of the ball for his new team. For Saturday, the Argentinian should be granted some extra creative freedom as he finds his feet, putting an extra onus on his midfield to cover for him where necessary.
Cox's suggestion Alvarez's fellow deadline-day arrival Sebastian Coates will not play with Wes Brown and John O'Shea currently ahead of him seems likely. Fellow new recruit Rodwell should be up against Spurs' midfield, while Patrick van Aanholt should continue at left-back—a player Poyet has declared with whom "we’re starting from zero," as per the Sunderland Echo.
The getting-to-know-you process Van Aanholt is going through is something Benjamin Stambouli and Federico Fazio are going through at Spurs.
"In the last two weeks they are in a good position discovering new team-mates, discovering the new philosophy and the new football," Pochettino said at his pre-match briefing. He was not willing to commit on whether either would definitely be involved.
Earlier this week, this writer predicted Fazio would come in at centre-back as Spurs search for their most solid back four possible. A few early touches would do him some good as the Lilywhites look to avoid the earlier-mentioned poor start.
Introducing Stambouli to midfield is less pressing given the solid form of Nabil Bentaleb and Etienne Capoue. The Frenchman may be reserved for Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League next week. If anyone does come in for Spurs, they, like Sunderland's new arrivals, will be desperate to make the better of the new impressions.
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