Football News

Tottenham’s Dele Alli to miss Manchester City match

Tottenham’s Dele Alli has missed the last six matches in all competitions with a hamstring injury. Despite reports that he would play on Monday night against Manchester City, it looks likely Alli will miss out for a seventh straight match.

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Dele Alli still injured

Alli has played just five times in the Premier League this season. He has scored one goal and his recovery from injury could be a result of muscle fatigue from featuring at the World Cup.

Spurs will also be without centre-back Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose. Injuries to key players will hurt the team’s chances against Manchester City on Monday night.

Mauricio Pochettino speaks about Champions League failure

Tottenham are coming off of a midweek draw with PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League. Spurs have struggled in the competition and Alli has missed all three European matches due to his hamstring issues.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino has bemoaned Tottenham’s ‘killer instinct’ recently. Following Spurs’ draw with PSV, he spoke about the team’s performance.

“We didn’t force it. It was like at 2-1 it was only to wait to try to finish the game”, Pochettino said. “We didn’t force, we didn’t force, that is why our feeling is so bad because it was under control the game, we were playing so well.

“The PSV fans were so, so disappointed with the performance of their own team, but it was like it was contagious. It looked like we played without goals because it was about keeping possession and trying to play and not about being aggressive in the final third.

“That was the right assessment and we didn’t force the opponent because we believe it was enough with the effort we made. But in football, you cannot allow the opponent some time to be alive. You need to kill the game and kill the opponent when you have the possibility, if not always in football you pay.”

Pochettino went on to speak about the level of play in the Champions League.

“When you play at this level in the Champions League, it’s so important to judge the reality more to find someone guilty from today,” Pochetino explained. “It’s about the collective and if we deserve to be on the next stage of the Champions League, showing what we are showing.

“One thing is the perception we are on the same level of Barcelona or another team with the habit to win the Champions League, another is when you play PSV and you have a lot of possibilities to win the game but you don’t win, maybe you start to see the reality in a different way.

“Of course we are so competitive and maybe today we deserved more. But football is not about deserving, it’s about being aggressive and scoring more goals than your opponent.”

Alli’s absence will hurt Spurs, but Tottenham are undefeated in 35 of 38 straight home games.

Can Tottenham win without Dele Alli?