Wolves vs Spurs | Ben's one to watch, Rob's analysis
Fri 10 November 2023, 15:00|Tottenham Hotspur
Fresh from their stint together on Inside Spurs this week, Ben Haines, who also presents The Review Show and The Warm Up and Club commentator Rob Daly take a look at Saturday's Premier League clash against Wolves at Molineux.
Straight from the studio at Hotspur Way, here they are in conversation on all things Wolves...
Ben: "Chelsea... that's the wildest game I've seen at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium."
Rob: "Easily, yes, and I haven't seen a crowd reaction like that before, the applause after the third goal, a standing ovation as Chelsea are celebrating. That's a real connection with the fans, it's right there."
Ben: "I don't think I've seen us lose many games 4-1, but I've never seen us lose 4-1 and get a standing ovation."
Ben: "So, I'll go first for Wolves... Matheus Cunha is my one to watch. If Wolves do what they did when they beat City at Molineux... I've seen them play with a 4-4-1-1 and a 3-4-3, if they go with 3-4-3, then Cunha is the one we have to look out for, he'll make life difficult whoever is in the pivot for us, you'd expect Yves Bissouma. He's also a creative outlet for them who works extremely hard."
Rob: "Cunha's running with the ball... in that game against City, Gary O'Neil explained that when the ball went into Mateo Kovacic, that was the trigger for Cunha to press. I think they'll play in a similar way, 3-4-3, sit deeper and then try to get their wing-backs high up the pitch. There's no Pedro Neto, he's injured, a massive loss, but they do have Hwang Hee-chan in superb form. Sasa Kalajdzic has showed his finishing quality."
Ben: "The thing with Neto is that he's so good one-on-one, when teams sit in and counter, having that ability is important, particularly now we're without the pace of Micky van de Ven...."
Rob: "I think they'll look to play balls over the top, because we'll still have a high line, but it will be a different high line, different defenders, so they will try to exploit the fact that defence won't have played a lot together. This is why I think our press, more than any other game this season, has to protect that back four, stop midfielders getting time and space. You want to see us really going after them."
Ben: "What is your gut feeling on the make up of the back four?"
Rob: "I think Emerson Royal right-back, Ben Davies left-back, Eric Dier centre-back alongside Alfie Dorrington or Ashley Phillips. That would be my guess."
Ben: "With that in mind, I'm looking at Ashley Phillips as our one to watch, because it looks like he might get a run out at some point, with three games suspended for Cuti Romero and Micky van de Ven out for a while. I'd love to see him get some game time. If he's not involved, then Eric Dier. He totally deserves his opportunity. I really hope it works out."
Rob: "Eric and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg did brilliantly together against Chelsea, especially given the circumstances."
Ben: "I thought Eric was fantastic. Imagine the pressure of coming off the bench into those circumstances. It would have been so poetic if his goal would have stood (Eric's volley to make it 2-2 with chalked off by VAR for offside). He made that early block to deny Nicolas Jackson and that set the tone for him. Fingers crossed for this weekend."