Tottenham - EFL Cup Final | Pre-Match Thread

Result Prediction


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MAG

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First Things First

What a week ... actually it's not even been a full week, but let's roll back a few days ...


Off the Pitch

On Sunday evening when I saw City's name alongside the absolute scum of the earth as a founding member of the Super League (TSL) ... I felt ANGRY ... I was absolutely fuming (and I am sure a whole lot of you can relate) ... Why? Why City why? Why would you do this ... why, especially when we had a beautiful opportunity to take a moral high ground and sit out of these shambolic ideas and half-baked plans of TSL ... we had instead gone and completely shot ourselves in the foot ...

On the Pitch

But that's exactly how I was feeling the night before (on Saturday) ... Why? Why City why? Why would you (rotate so much and) throw away a Cup Semi Final when we were so close to a Final, so close to something unbelievable - a never before done Quadruple, ... we had instead gone and completely shot ourselves in the foot ...

All's Well that Ends Well

Oh well, in a weird way at least that Sunday-to-Tuesday off-field saga was a distraction from the on-field self-destruction the night before ... and just like that one has now (kind of) ended well, here's hoping we can turn it all around on the pitch as well and get everything back on track!




Pre-Match Thoughts

Up until the last weekend, I was pretty sure that Pep had rested all the in-form players against Leeds so they could play next two in a row (which were the second leg at Dortmund and Chelsea in the FA Cup) ... and then had that worked out well, he'd have rested them again for the Villa game today and be ready for the next two big ones (which is where we are at now - Spurs in the Final and PSG first leg up ahead).


But that loss against Leeds threw things off in this plan I guess (and yes I am still convinced that was the original plan) ... but then Pep did what he does once a season that leaves us scratching our heads in that Chelsea game and played a totally changed team again ... the reason for which I can't understand to this day ... maybe, he wanted to give those fringe players a chance to redeem themselves or maybe he prioritized the Villa game over the FA Cup semi final knowing that the qualification to the CL semi finals means he doesn't want unnecessary pressure in the Palace game ahead that will come in between the two legs of that Semi Final ... anyway, what's done is done and we still have a Treble to look forward to and that starts this Sunday - what a chance to lift the first trophy this season and also make some history in the process (but more on that a little later).

Spurs have had their own issues in the last few weeks ... from joining the Super League to leaving it ... and in between firing Jose Mourinho ...

Ryan Mason comes in as the caretaker (yes, Ryan Mason) and I am not sure where they stand before this Final. Will he give them that new manager bounce? But then he isn't really a new manager and usually these interim appointments don't give the kind of lift that a fully appointed manager does. And this Final won't be his very first game in charge anyway ...

The jokes going around the social media and on here about Jose being sacked were about him being the only TSL manager to be sacked or Daniel Levy pulling the trigger thinking he has all this new cash coming in as the welcome bonus for signing on to TSL so he could afford the pay-off (that sacking Jose would have required) ... but in reality I think Levy thought if Jose wins the cup it'd become harder getting rid of the manager who has finally won them a trophy after whatever no. of years ... or the other view is it's not Levy but the Tottenham players were thinking that (if they win this weekend, it'll prolong their suffering under him) so Levy thought they might have a better chance of winning without Jose at helm.

I am not sure I can call it either way ... what would have been better for us? Jose in charge or Jose out? On one hand I think Jose is a master of winning the one off games against big rivals where his team is underdog and he'd have cherished going against Pep especially after us having been knocked out of one domestic cup just last weekend. On other hand I think players had given up on him and might put in more effort now without having to worry about him ... guess we'll find out in a few days time.

As always, if we can just focus on ourselves and don't get beat by our own over-thinking (like last weekend) then there isn't a team in the land that can lay a glove on us ... and that includes this Spurs side, whoever the manager.





What Lies Ahead

A quick reminder of the games before and after the Final for both clubs:

Tottenham Hotspur

Wed 21 Apr - 6:00pm - Southampton (H) - PL
Sun 25 Apr - 4:30pm - City (N) - EFL Cup Final
Sat 1 May - 3:00pm - Sheffield United (H) - PL

Manchester City

Wed 21 Apr - 8:15pm - Aston Villa (A) - PL
Sun 25 Apr - 4:30pm - Spurs (N) - EFL Cup Final
Wed 28 Apr - 8:00pm - PSG (A) - CL SF 1st Leg
Sat 1 May - 12:30pm - Crystal Palace (A) - PL
Tue 28 Apr - 8:00pm - PSG (H) - CL SF 2nd Leg



Since I am writing this before our Villa game tonight (but you will be reading it after that has ended) ... I am really hoping that we have won that, as dropping points in that one would add pressure on the next league game against Palace ... which is sandwiched between the two legs of the Champions League Semi Final against Paris Saint-Germain. We win the Villa game and United lose theirs against Leeds (A) on the weekend just before this Final and that relieves the pressure from that Palace game especially as United play Liverpool in that gameweek, but if we drop points here tonight then that'd makes it three-in-a-row must-wins post this one ... and that might force Pep to play a weakened team against Spurs in the Final. Anyway these are all hypotheticals at this stage and by the time you are reading this, we'd have played Villa and know more on exactly where we stand.




History Books

Having won FIVE of the last seven EFL Cups justifies this being referred to as the City's Cup in recent years rather than as the League Cup or Carabao Cup. Here is the historical data on previous winners of this competition (table below) ... and why this weekend gives us the chance to match not one but two all-time records in the history books ...


Liverpool are currently sitting atop of this table having won this EIGHT times ... but we are right on their coattails with SEVEN wins of our own (five of which have come in just last seven seasons) so a win this weekend would make us the most successful club in this competition's history (jointly with them).

Similarly, they are the only ones to have won this FOUR times in a row (in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984) but with our current run of three straight wins (in 2018, 2019 and 2020), a win this weekend for us would also match that record ...



EFL Cup Winners.jpg


Another positive to come out of that quick exit from TSL last night is that we will be participating in the EFL Cup next season again ... and that'd give us a chance to leave Liverpool behind on both those counts (outright wins and highest no. of consecutive wins) and make this rightfully our own. With doubts about the future of this competition all together or at the very least discussions surrounding if clubs participating in Europe should even compete in this means we don't know how many more opportunities we will get in this competition ... so I am very much looking forward to and rooting for us to finish at the top of these all time records ... no history, eh?




Match Prediction

Harry Kane and Kevin de Bruyne's injuries last week had thrown a little spanner in the works but the recent news is positive for both and this game could easily be decided by the absence or presence of one or the other for their respective clubs. I am however confident that we are more of a team, especially this season, and can cope better than the Harry Kane team ...

Manchester City 2 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur

 
No dicking around with rotation for the sake of it now, we've rotated all season so that in these games we can go full strength. No Sterling and no Torres.

Steffen
Walker
Dias
Laporte
Zinchenko
Fernandinho
Gundogan
Bernardo
Mahrez
Foden
Jesus.

I'm assuming kdb won't be fit enough for a start. Good option off the bench if he's got 30 minutes in him though.
 
Rest Dias.

NO


No
We won't win without him
Trophy at stake

Agreed


No we need this trophy. Trophies give big boost it will outweigh any tiredness.

Losing a final is big dent in confidence.

Agreed


If Dias is rested and Stones is suspended (after today's red card) who are you suggesting at the back? ... in a cup final?? Ake or Garcia? Either of whom have played hardly any minutes this season ...
 
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