Cast your mind back to early September if you will. With zero points from two games bottom of the table Spurs go to Molineux to take on unbeaten Wolves. Losing to the two Manchester clubs was one thing but being set upon by Wolves would be another. Well we all know what happened and as we face Mick McCarthy’s men in the reverse fixture this Saturday to say that things look slightly rosier for us is more than an understatement. Parker and Adebayor made their debuts that day and the goals scored by the latter and Defoe started us on the run that has left us breathing down the neck of the top two and put a wind under countless headlines across the world containing the words ‘Spurs’, ‘title’ and ‘dream’.
For Wolves, things haven’t been going quite so well. It’s eight games since their last win. Ouch. Loss of form, limited resources and injuries to key players have been at the root of their problems, they sit in 16th with only one away win all season. They’ve been relying on Fletcher for their goals; he’s managed an impressive 8 in the league so far. Kevin Doyle often does well against us but he’s been struggling so far with only 2. Nenad Milijas will be available in midfield, Roger Johnson is expected to recover from his ankle injury and the execrable Frimpong will probably make the second appearance of his loan move. O’Hara is apparently still injured.
Assou-Ekotto was the star of Wednesday’s show but it was Jake Livermore’s performance that made one pause and take note. The muscularity and running were familiar but the Parker like tackling and distribution gave the midfield a solid base that we thought might be missing in the absence of the aforementioned no 8 and Sandro. Reading between the lines the team for Saturday afternoon is likely to be that which played against Everton. If King or Parker were available then they might play but a comeback at Eastlands for one or both is more probable. The return of Lennon gave us the balance we’ve all been craving for. His display on Wednesday was typical of this season for him, often quiet, but his intervention was key and critical.
Adebayor will get a rest from staring at an upraised linesman’s flag next weekend so should put his all in in this one.
Wolves always give us a battle, they won down here two seasons ago and were on top with 15 minutes to go last year until an Alan Hutton inspired fightback gave us the points. Mike Jones is the referee. He took charge in the home game against Liverpool that followed the trip to Molineux mentioned above. All being well, he’ll supervise a similarly dominant performance and win. COYS.
By MF
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