Roberto De Zerbi has put his players through the paces ahead of Tottenham’s game against Leeds United.
Roberto De Zerbi strengthened his preparations before the match between “Tottenham” and “Leeds United”. The Lilywhites have the opportunity to win four Premier League games in a row for the first time since October 2023 when they face Daniel Farken’s side at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.
Since the end of the international break in October, Spurs have been in excellent form, drawing at Manchester United before going on to pick up three points from Coventry City, Chelsea and Crystal Palace. The long hours at Hotspur Way are finally starting to pay off as De Zerbi turns promising performances into impressive results.
Speaking to reporters at the weekend, he reflected on the rise of his form. The head coach of “Tottenham” said: “I think we were playing well even before the national break.
“Maybe we weren’t there for 90 minutes, but we played very well in many parts of that game. We didn’t score, we conceded a stupid goal, then we lost energy, we lost spirit, we lost the right unity between the players.
Make sure you never miss the latest Tottenham news and opinion by making Football London one of Google’s preferred sources.
“If we compare Tottenham before the national break and Tottenham after the national break, now we are playing as a team. Before the national break, we were playing as many good players, but not as a team.”
De Zerbi, while still not wanting to get down on himself, added: “We can’t forget, as I told the players before the game and at half-time, we can’t forget where we were two weeks ago.
“Two weeks ago, before the Coventry game, we were bottom of the table and we can’t forget. I think that’s a crucial part for the team, a crucial aspect.
“Then, to play freely, to enjoy the ball, to attack a lot of players, it’s not a problem – but we can’t forget where we were two weeks ago…”
So with that being said, football.london here’s a look at five things you missed in training at Hotspur Way this week.
The Tottenham wonder continues to work hard
Luca Williams-Barnett has been brought back into first-team training at Hotspur Way. The Tottenham prodigy impressed on his Premier League debut at the weekend, coming off the bench in the win over Crystal Palace to set up a great chance for Mohamed Qudus.
In just a few minutes, Williams-Barnett proved he is more than capable of making an impact at the highest level. With the holidays just around the corner, the England U-19 national team will have more opportunities to perform.
Full bentankur from ear to ear
Bentancur appeared to be in high spirits ahead of his long-awaited return to action. The Tottenham midfielder has missed each of the last three Premier League games since being booked for violent conduct in last month’s draw with Manchester United.
There is still no sign of Mudrik
Mykhailo Mudryk was again missing from the latest batch of photos taken at Hotspur Way. The Chelsea loanee, who played just once for Tottenham this season, suffered. He picked up a silly ankle injury in training shortly after making his debut against Nottingham Forest.
In September, it was thought that he would be out of action for six to eight weeks. But Mudryk was left out of the matchday squad to face Crystal Palace on Saturday night, raising question marks over his availability.
Five other Tottenham stars were also absent
Tosin Adarabioyo, Lucas Bergvall and Savio were also absent from the latest batch of snaps. Hotspur Road. The latter, whether it’s full training or individual work on the grass, has returned to action in a measure, though he’s been wearing trainers rather than boots like his team-mates, recently uploading a picture of himself in the dressing room.
Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert, both recovering from ACL injuries, were of course nowhere to be seen.
De Zerbi drops a hint on the starting line-up
Interestingly, Omar Marmoush was pictured wearing a different colored bib (pink) compared to Dominic Solanke and Mathys Tel (orange) during a special training session at Hotspur Way. The trio, of course, lined up back-to-back in the weekend win over Crystal Palace and offered a pinch to the front line ahead of the clash with Leeds United.
Pedro Porro, Mateus Fernandes and Conor Gallagher were also in the orange jerseys, while Andy Robertson, Archie Gray and Williams-Barnett featured in the pink team. Perhaps De Zerbi was leveling the playing field for the small-sided game, with Jan Paul van Hecke, Dejan Kulusevski and Mohamed Kudus wearing yellow.