Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Tottenham vs Hull City




Tottenham and Hull City will clash for the second time in four days, with the two sides vying for victory in the Capital One Cup.

Andre Villas-Boas' charges secured a 1-0 triumph over Hull in Sunday's Premier League encounter, and Spurs will once again welcome Steve Bruce's side to White Hart Lane on Wednesday.

Tottenham's weekend victory came in debatable circumstances, as referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty against Ahmed Elmohamady for handball.

The decision appeared a harsh one, with the Egyptian seemingly unintentionally using his arm to block Jan Vertonghen's cross.

Spain international Roberto Soldado duly converted the spot kick - his third from 12 yards already this season - as Spurs secured back-to-back top-flight victories, much to the chagrin of Bruce.

The fixture with Hull is the hosts' third in the space of just seven days, meaning Villas-Boas could rotate his squad with the likes of Erik Lamela coming into contention.

The former Roma midfielder has yet to start a Premier League game for the club, and Villas-Boas admits he is looking for the 21-year-old to stake his claim for a starting spot.

"With Erik it was a little bit more difficult but we have given him massive, massive help and his family arrived this week," he said.

"He knows he isn't producing half of what he can produce but he understands the situation now is that he has to compete for his place."

The game is likely to come too soon for Etienne Capoue, despite his return to training from an ankle injury, while Danny Rose is out with a similar problem, but Andros Townsend is not expected to be sidelined after he fell into a photographer's pit on Sunday, injuring his wrist in the process.

Hull, meanwhile, have been in good form upon their return to the top flight, with Bruce's side taking 11 points from nine games, and moving to 10th place in the Premier League.

But Sunday's reverse means they have gone three games without a league victory, including losses in their last two matches.

Hull head into the match with an extensive injury list that includes goalkeeper Allan McGregor [thigh], defenders James Chester [hamstring] and Abdoulaye Faye [knock] and forwards Sone Aluko [calf] and Danny Graham [hamstring].

Tottenham defeated Aston Villa in the previous stage, while Hull have seen off challenges from Leyton Orient and Huddersfield Town to make round four.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.