Ben & Rob talk Spurs - this week, Skippy and Sarr, and the Hammers
N17 Live presenter Ben Haines and Club commentator Rob Daly look back on a big week and ahead to what is always a huge clash against West Ham in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (4.30pm).
You can join them both and big-name guests from pitchside on N17 Live on our official You Tube channel and SPURSPLAY from 3.25pm.
This week...
Ben: “Leicester... that was a tough afternoon, Leicester had been in decent form since the turn of the year and clearly have players who can hurt teams - you just can’t let your guard down, at all. Milan, on one hand, you want us to go out and attack the game, but if we go through at home we’ll see that as quite an astute tactical performance, keeping Milan at bay for the most part. The tie is totally up in the air, and I’d much rather play the second leg at home.”
Rob: “Milan is still wide open at 1-0. The fact there is no away goals rule helps Spurs as well, so not scoring at the San Siro isn’t a major problem, they just have to go and win the second leg in north London, and if that’s by a two-goal margin, they’ll go through to the quarter-finals.”
Skippy and Sarr...
Rob: “They were my main take away from the San Siro. First of all, I was so pleased for them. I found myself rooting for them, because there was pressure on them, but both players handled it brilliantly. It was a first Champions League start for them both, and there they were on the pitch where some of this century’s best midfielders have played, looking totally at home. Antonio Conte knows he can trust them. Skippy looked like the player we knew before his injuries, and Sarr looked like the player who has been hyped so much. He was confident, I loved the way he read the game, saw opportunities to pinch the ball, snapped into tackles, looked good in the air... and his passing was near flawless. I can’t praise them highly enough.”
Ben: “I thought the way they managed the occasion was brilliant, a breath of fresh air, especially considering how unfortunate we’ve been with injuries. I thought the way they approached the game, the tenacity, the physicality, also the quality on the ball, both of them with those brilliant pivot turns to get us on the front foot at various moments. Sarr’s defensive work shouldn’t be overlooked, either.”
In focus | Sarr at the San Siro
West Ham...
Ben: “This is a perfect game for us to come back to. It will be spicy, a real ding-dong. Like Arsenal and Chelsea, you know West Ham want to beat us more than anyone else, and that means we tend to elevate our game.”
Rob: “They’ve looked more resilient in recent weeks. No doubt, the 2-0 win against Everton in January was massive for them. Since then, they’re unbeaten in four, draws against Newcastle and Chelsea not to be sniffed out. I think it’s fair to say with the quality in the squad, they’ve been under performing. They’ve scored 19 in 22 games, last season they’d scored 41 at the same stage. They’ve been solid at the back and that’s vital to pull away from the relegation zone. They’ve a number of absentees - Zouma, Scamacca, Cornet, Aguerd, Paqueta is a big one, injured recently against Chelsea, he’s a massive miss for the Hammers.”
Hammers moments...
Ben: “I loved Harry Winks’ first goal in the 3-2 in 2016, when Harry Kane scored late as well. Gareth Bale’s ping for 3-2 in 2013. One people might not remember, Harry running the length of the pitch during lockdown, behind-closed-doors, he raced through, scored one-on-one, then just laid down on the pitch, gasping for air, like a racehorse at the end of a race. A brilliant moment. Then Paul Stalteri and Dimitar Berbatov's free-kick in the 4-3 in 2007, amazing.”
Rob: “I could go for the famous late winners at Upton Park, I even thought about last season’s home win, a big win in terms of Champions League qualification, but I’ll go back to one moment I enjoyed, Jose Mourinho’s first game in charge, the goal where Dele did that flick from on the floor on the touchline to send Son away for Lucas for 2-0. It was genius.”