LONDON • Dele Alli has pledged to end Tottenham's 11-year wait for a major trophy as his side head into an explosive League Cup semi-final showdown with Chelsea tonight.
Spurs have not won a major competition since beating the Blues in the 2008 final. They also lost to the same team in the 2015 final.
The four-time Cup winners are still in the Champions League and FA Cup, and also have an outside chance in the Premier League title race. But it is the League Cup that presents their first chance to end the silverware drought.
While the competition is often written off as an after-thought for top clubs, England star Alli is adamant it could be the first major prize for highly regarded manager Mauricio Pochettino, yet to win a trophy in his coaching career with Spurs, Southampton and Espanyol.
"I think every game, every competition, you want to win it," Alli said.
Spurs crushed fourth-tier Tranmere 7-0 in Friday's FA Cup third round using only three first-team regulars, including Alli, in a bid to keep the key men fresh for Chelsea.
Alli expects the plan to pay dividends, saying: "I believe we've got a strong squad.
"Players work hard to make sure we're fully fit and the manager makes changes. I think he's very good at that."
Chelsea, who host the second leg on Jan 22, will give late fitness tests to Olivier Giroud (ankle) and winger Pedro (hamstring).
Manager Maurizio Sarri is unsure whether midfielder Cesc Fabregas has played his last game but he feels the Spaniard must leave for the good of his career.
Fabregas, 31, appeared to say goodbye after Saturday's 2-0 FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest, applauding all sides of Stamford Bridge. His contract expires this season, with British media reporting he is close to securing a move to Monaco this month.
"I don't know if he is able to play tomorrow because in the last match he had cramp in the calf so he needs to rest I think," Sarri said yesterday.
"I don't know the decision of the club. In my opinion, he needs to go."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
TOTTENHAM V CHELSEA
StarHub Ch202 & Singtel TV Ch111, tomorrow, 3.55am
Football News -PARIS (AFP) - Neymar will travel to Qatar to undergo a "complete assessment" six weeks into his recovery from a fractured right foot, the club said on Thursday (March 8
Neymar Heads to Qatar For Medical Assessment - News18
Egypt striker Mohamed Salah has been named African Footballer of the Year for the second successive year at the Confederation of African Football's 2018 awards ceremony in Dakar on Tuesday. "I have dreamt of winning this award since I was a child and now I have done so twice in a row," Salah said soon after receiving his trophy in Dakar.
Salah retains African football award, Football News & Top
Two quickfire first-half goals set Australia on their way to a 3-0 win over Palestine in their second Asian help Socceroos bounce back. point but are far from out of the knockout picture.
Socceroos bounce back at the Asian Cup with Palestine win
Growing calls for Solskjaer to be boss. Manchester United interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with assistant coaches Mike Phelan (left) and Michael Carrick, watching Anthony Martial in action
Growing calls for Solskjaer to be boss | Sportstons
sportstons.com/soccer/growing-calls-for-solskjaer-to-be-boss/
Growing calls for Solskjaer to be boss LONDON • Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has backed his former teammate and caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to take over the hot seat on a full-time basis in the summer.
Solskjaer: Don't call me boss, call me Ole, Latest Football
West Ham leave it late to see off spirited Huddersfield Soccer Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Huddersfield Town - London Stadium, London, Britain - March 16, 2019 West Ham's
West Ham leave it late to see off spirited Huddersfield - msn.com
England soccer captain Harry Kane received the MBE award on Thursday for services to football after leading the national team to the World Cup semi-final in Russia last summer.
England soccer captain Kane honoured at Buckingham Palace
How Reds learned from Man City - and what Klopp said after defeat Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now "When you lose games you analyse them more than when you
Pep Guardiola is confident his achievements at Manchester City will not be tarnished by UEFA's investigation into alleged Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches and trusted the club to resolve the
Guardiola trusts Man City to resolve FFP allegations - Reuters
BARCELONA, March 9 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi created a goal and scored another as Barcelona came from behind to beat struggling Rayo Vallecano 3-1 at home on Messi shines as Barca survive scare
Messi shines as Barca survive scare to see off Rayo
Football: MP & Silva's Singapore office in provisional
Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get them in front of Issuu's
Football: Placing faith in home-grown talent is the way forward for Valencia, says club president Anil Murthy Club president Anil Murthy said the reason for Valencia's recent stability is down
Latest VALENCIA | The Straits Times
0 comments:
Post a Comment