New on Sports Illustrated: Tottenham Hotspur-West Brom Preview

Jose Mourinho is concerned that one of Arsenal's coaches will be helping to take charge of Wales' upcoming international fixtures, as the Tottenham boss insisted Gareth Bale must be protected.

Bale scored his first Tottenham goal to clinch the points in a 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion, and played 65 minutes in a 3-1 Europa League victory over Ludogorets on Thursday.

The 31-year-old has been selected for Wales' upcoming fixtures against the United States, Republic of Ireland and Finland.

Ryan Giggs will not be in charge for those matches following an alleged off-field incident, with assistant Robert Page taking over, and he will be supported by Arsenal coach Albert Stuivenberg - a concern for Mourinho, who urged Wales to manage Bale carefully.

"It's about managing the situation and keeping him safe. He's player that needs to be safe, he's a player that had enough problems in the past," Mourinho told reporters.

"Of course Wales have two matches where they play in the Nations League and I expect him to play, but if they care as much about him as they do, they have to manage the recovery periods, manage how many days between one match and another, manage the minutes he plays and they should not let him get into fatigue.

"The fact that one of their coaches is an Arsenal coach, doesn't make me very comfortable. I think national teams should have coaches that work exclusively for them, not coaches that work for other clubs."

Spurs face struggling West Brom on Sunday, with the Baggies having lost 2-0 to Fulham last time out.

"We can't rely on something to happen," said Slaven Bilic.

"We can't just rely on quality and maybe some teams can, so we have to be more hungry, focused and committed otherwise it's going to be very difficult for us."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

West Brom - Sam Johnstone

The Baggies have already conceded 16 goals this season, more than any other team in the top-flight, and goalkeeper Johnstone will have to be at the top of his game to keep out Kane, Son Heung-min, Bale and the rest of Spurs' attack.

Tottenham - Son Heung-min

It has been a superb start to the season for Son, who is level with Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin at the top of the Premier League scoring charts with eight goals from his seven appearances, while the South Korea star has also registered two assists.

KEY OPTA FACTS

- West Brom won their last Premier League encounter with Spurs, 1-0 back in May 2018. They've not won back-to-back league games against Tottenham since November 1984.

- Tottenham lost their last Premier League game against a promoted side, 1-3 vs Sheffield United in July. They have not lost consecutive such matches since April 2012.

- Since losing their opening game of the season against Everton, Tottenham are now on the longest current unbeaten run in the Premier League (W4 D2). Coming into this weekend's games, Spurs are also the highest scorers in the Premier League this term (18).

- Tottenham have won all three of their away Premier League games this season - only three times in their history have they won their opening four on the road in a league campaign.

- Harry Kane has scored seven goals in his seven Premier League appearances against West Brom, one of nine sides he averages a goal-per-game or better against in the competition.

Post a Comment

0 Comments