Pizy

Really? I think that's his strength. Even yesterday he put in a few excellent crosses. It's his pace and defending that are subpar and not good enough against top sides. He's passable against decent or poor sides where he isn't facing top quality wide players that can expose him.

Not that he'll panic or anything, but I wonder if Conte will accelerate any moves in the transfer window after seeing some of our weaknesses exposed again. I think a dynamic midfielder and Van Dijk especially would take us up a whole level. Van Dijk partnering Luiz would see us have a dominant back line and another threat on set pieces. We have the money from the Oscar sale to easily pay what it'll take to sign him.

Yep, and honestly, there are maybe only a couple of sides in the league that have the caliber of player needed to win the midfield against us. That's why I'm not too bothered yet.

So, so disappointing to concede 2 identical goals created by the same two players. They drew our CB's towards the ball and isolated our two shortest defenders. You just cannot allow a player with the passing ability of Eriksen yards of space at the edge of the box. You must close him down and deny him the cross. We got absolutely nothing from our attacking players this match but overall it was an even game. We weren't played off the park or didn't have a number out on us. We were well in the game. Got nothing from Pedro or Willian, Hazard couldn't get going, and Diego would receive the ball in positions where he couldn't be dangerous. Fortunately, I don't think this'll be a demoralizing defeat that will cause us to drop our heads. We didn't play poorly, they just played a bit better. Sadly, though, this result means that the title race is well and truly wide open now.

CANNOT allow them to come out and look way hungrier and more intense than us. We have to match their energy and desire from the open ending whistle. Please no zombie, timid football where Hazard and Diego are totally out of the game. The leaders on the pitch for us like Luiz will hopefully have our lads super fired up. Probable title winning result here if we get 3 points! Must treat it like a cup final!

Shitting it here!!!

True, but it's got to be difficult to drop Willian after what he did against Stoke.

Anyone expecting a surprise from Conte? Fabregas starting maybe? I doubt it. Wonder who he chooses between Willian and Pedro...

Like Liverpool, Spuds don't really have more than one or two individuals that scare me but are so fantastically coached by their managers that they worry me more than say City or United who are loaded with top class players. Their relentless pressing and feeding off of what will be a super hostile home crowd is our main threat. I don't know what a coach can do in training to prepare for the high press effectively but whatever it is I hope it's all we did these past few days. Really don't want to see us get rattled by an early goal like we did at home against them.

Nervous a hell already with 7 and a half hours until kickoff! Chance to pencil ourselves in for the title, chance to break an all time record and do so at the home of a hated rival with the whole football world watching us. What a fucking massive statement a win would be. All of our title rivals would be completely demoralized. Fuck a draw, WE MUST WIN!

If we win this tomorrow everyone here gets a blowie

Win this and in my opinion the title is sewn up. Can't see a Conte team with this many pedigreed, seriel winners letting an 8 point gap slip. Especially if we also make a couple of good signings for depth this month, I would do anything for a win tomorrow. Haven't been this desperate for a win since....well, we ended Spuds' title hopes last season.

Bournemouth could have claimed two massive scalps in Liverpool and Arsenal but they somehow blow a 3-0 lead. Shocking. Eddi Howe and his players probably won't be sleeping well tonight knowing what could've been.

Damn, I was really hoping José and United would miss out on the top 4 again but with the way Arsenal are collapsing and the run United are on it looks like this may finally be the season Wenger misses out. Embarrassing with the squad he's got.

Would be a decent backup or option for Conte but would be a pretty dumb move for him. Doubt he'd want to come and sit on our bench when he's playing every match for Wet Spam.

Biggest thing we have to expect and deal with is them targeting our wingbacks. They have loads and loads of pace in wide areas and that's what Alonso struggles against. Also, as great as Cesc has been lately this is the last opponent he should be starting against. Matic is a must. I really hope we don't allow them to play the sort of game they always want to play. Don't let them pin us with the press constantly. The most infuriating thing is seeing us get rattled by pressure and not being able to string 2-3 passes together. It pissed me off when they came to the Bridge earlier and would get stuck into us and disposess the ball immedietly. We have to keep composure and try to dictate the tempo.

They'll be treating this like the CL final and their players will be absolutely desperate to win. Let's hope our players treat it the same way. The Spurs players will all raise their games and be super hungry. A win could be a huge catalyst for them to mount a late title push as they'd only be 7 behind us if they win. Hopefully Conte learned a few ways to deal with their high pressing that dominated us in the first half when we played them a few weeks back. We can't count on a magical goal and them tiring in the 2nd half again to turn things around. The Hazard we saw against Bournemouth is the one we'll need rather than the more subdued one we saw yesterday. If we win this I'll be almost positive that we'll go on and win the league.

The powers that be will have a word with the ref to go easy. They'll want Spuds at their best for the marquee matchup on Wednesday. I never wish injury on players but....yeah...I kinda hope for a couple for Spuds. Hate the dirty bastards.

And to think at half time 90% of you were slaughtering Willian! Delighted with the 3 points, disgusted by the shambolic defending on both Stoke goals. What were our players doing!? They just stood off and stood off and looked like school boys who didn't know how to defend. Embarrassing. Cesc was superb. Costa brilliant. Willian found his shooting boots and was great in the second half. Azpi was nearly perfect. Hazard didn't really do much today which would've made things more comfortable.

That was vintage Tony Pulis Stoke there. Pack the box so there's no way through on the ground and lump it up to a giant striker. Need to get Hazard on to the ball more in space. Way too many long balls for my liking even though some were very effective.

Yikes if Luiz gets his 5th yellow today. Who would even come in for him against Spurs? That'll be a nightmare fixture without him. Especially if we drop points here.

Huge confidence boost for Cesc. If he gets space and time in midfield with all of Hazard, Pedro, Willian, and Costa up there he should destroy Stoke.

They'll probably play with like 5 midfielders in order to press and harass Matic and Kante the whole time. I think this'll be another annoying match like the West Brom and Sunderland matches rather than a comfortable one like Bournemouth. They'll probably do all they can to frustrate and negate us rather than actually trying to play football. Guess we have to get used to seeing that this season, though.

He's definitely a "win now" sort of signing rather than a long term one. I still wouldn't mind, though.

Like Verratti, Vidal would be an unbelievable signing. Also like Verratti, he's already at a big, super rich club who have no reason to sell and are in no need of money.