After going out of all the Cups, we only have the league campaign to concentrate on. Maybe this is what Pochettino had wanted from the beginning of the season, looking at his mediocre team selections in the Cups. If so, Pochettino has no excuse not to get the best possible results in the remaining of the league matches. We are now entering the crucial part of the season, needing to win all the remaining league matches to have any chance of winning the league. This is where our mental strength is going to be really tested. With Leicester keeps winning their matches against all the odds, we have no choice but to keep winning to stay in touch with them as well. On paper, Bournemouth at home looks like the easiest of our remaining matches. Afterall, we did beat them 5-1 away. But it has been proven many times that no match is easy match for us. And Bournemouth have been in good form recently, winning the last 3 matches and unbeaten in the last 7 away matches in all competitions. So, we have to treat them carefully and give them due respect.
Kane scored the hattrick against Bournemouth when we beat them 5-1 away earlier in the season. We have to rely on him to get us the goals again. He has been in good form recently, scoring 3 goals in his last 2 league matches. Hope he can continue his goal run and finish as the top scorer in the league. Apart from his goals, Kane also needs to learn to create goals for others as well, especially if there are players in better position than him. He only has 1 assist this season which is not good enough for our only striker. Kane can really help players like Lamela and Eriksen score more goals. For all his workrate and defensive duties, Lamela really should be scoring more goals. But Lamela did score against Bournemouth away. So, hope he can get one here again.
Our midfield cannot get complacent in this match even if Bournemouth don't have any world class players. Hope Dier will be fit to play in this match after getting injured against Dortmund. But won't mind if we rest him as he is 1 yellow card away from 2 match suspensions. Alli did well to create 2 goals for Kane against Villa. We will need him to be at his best in this match. Dembele and Eriksen got a much-needed rest against Dortmund in the EL. So, they have no excuse not to be at their best in this match. Badly want to see Eriksen score from a freekick, if he gets one. It has been a long time time since he scored from a freekick. Dembele scored against Bournemouth away. Won't mind if he can get one here as well.
Our defence did well to keep the clean sheet against Villa. But we also conceded 5 goals against Dortmund in both the legs. This shows our defence need to be alert at all time, regardless of our opponents. We let Bournemouth score in the very 1st minute before coming back to win 5-1 away. The defence needs to do much better than that this time. With due respect to Bournmouth, it will be annoying if we can't stop them scoring against us at home. Can't help but worried about Lloris' recent form. He seems to be conceding goals he should be saving. Not sure if the pressure of expectations is getting to him. Our defence and midfield really need to protect him more. For one, we should stop sending those stupid back passes to Lloris which he never seems to handle comfortably.
With Leicester winning against Palace, the pressure is back on us. We really cannot afford to drop any points now as that will make it easier for Leicester in the title race. We have to ignore Leicester for now, and try to win as many matches as possible to stay in the title race. Hope we will do just that by getting that all-important win against Bournemouth !
