Key events
On pundit duty, Peter Crouch predicts a “reasonably comfortable” win for Spurs.
“You need to move on quickly,” Postecoglou tells TNT Sports of that win at City. “It was a good day for us. We played well, and you need to against the best in the business. It’s a different challenge tonight. And it’ll be a good challenge.
Will Roma have a new manager bounce? “It will be a tough game. They’ve had a difficult start to the season. Europe is a bit of an escape from that for all clubs, a chance to kickstart your season … Claudio’s come in, they lost against Napoli: tonight will be a tough game.”
And finally on Fraser Forster: “He’s been around a long time and he’s a big part of the club. He’s already played in the Europa League this season so he’s not going in cold. He’ll do well.”
Thank you to Mats Hummels for reminding me: this is a crucial game for Roma’s European hopes:
“This game is incredibly important for us,” he said. “It’s possibly our last chance if we want to finish in the top eight but we need points anyway to reach the next round and turn things around for our team and our club. It’s a very difficult game but it’s also a big chance. We’re playing a very strong team but we can show we’re able to play at a much higher level.”
Bryan Cristante, on the bench for Roma tonight, is the player who swung that England v Italy Euro 2020 final in the Azzurri’s direction. In my opinion.
Chelsea have beaten Heidenheim 2-0 in the Europa Conference League.
As for the Europa League table, Spurs sit eighth as we go to press.
Roma are 21st out of 36.
Rodrigo Bentancur’s ban applies to domestic matches only, by the way:
David Hytner
Guglielmo Vicario has had surgery to repair an ankle fracture that he sustained in Tottenham’s 4-0 Premier League win at Manchester City on Saturday. The news has rocked the club so soon after such a morale-boosting result and it will deprive them of one of their key players and leaders at a busy time of the season.
Isn’t it lovely to reminisce about those pre-Brexit days when Ranieri led Leicester to the Premier League title?
But that was then, and this is now, and all that.
Will Unwin has Manchester United v Bodø/Glimt right here:
Four changes for Tottenham then, with Forster in nets, while Gray, Bentancur and Johnson also come in.
Team news
Tottenham (4-3-3): Forster; Porro, Dragusin, Davies, Gray; Sarr, Bentancur, Johnson; Kulusevski, Solanke, Son (capt.). Substitutes: Austin, Whiteman, Bissouma, Udogie, Maddison, Bergvall, Werner, Olusesi, Williams-Barnet, Hardy, King.
Roma (3-4-2-1): Svilar, Mancini, Hummels, Ndicka; Celik, Kone, Paredes, Angelino; Dybala, El Shaarawy; Dovbyk. Substitutes: Marin, Ryan, Cristante, Pellegrini, Abdulhamid, Soule, Le Fee, Baldanzi, Saelemaekers, Zalewski, Pisilli, Sangare.
Preamble
Ange Postecoglou said this is “a really pivotal part of the season”. He was speaking before his Tottenham players opened an industrial-sized can of whup-ass for Manchester City at the Etihad last Saturday, so hats off to him, the pivot has initially been positive.
But Spurs have eight more matches to squeeze in before Christmas, starting with Roma this evening, and such a congested spell will provide a stern test for Project Postecoglou and Ange-ball. For every 4-0 thrashing of the Premier League champions there seems to be a shock defeat by the likes of Crystal Palace or Ipswich, so the jury remains out on Tottenham’s long-term prospects under the Greek-Australian.
Whatever happens tonight should be fun, though, because Claudio Ranieri is back in charge of Roma for the third time in his career. The 73-year-old’s first match in charge as caretaker manager was a 1-0 defeat by Napoli last Sunday. Can the wily old fox derail Ange’s festive plans? We’re about to find out.
Kick-off: 8pm UK
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