Matthew Chadder

Sat 20 January 2024 7:10, UK

It is no secret that Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has preferred Yves Bissouma over Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this season, although the stats suggest there actually isn’t much to separate the pair.

Ever since the Australian’s arrival in North London, the Denmark international has fallen down the pecking order at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A mainstay in Spurs’ starting lineups for the past few years, Hojbjerg has had to settle for just five Premier League starts this term.

Meanwhile, after struggling in his debut season at the club, Bissouma has become one of Postecoglou’s preferred midfielders this season.

The Mali international has already started more league games under Postecoglou (15) than he did across the entire 2022/23 campaign (10), despite missing five games due to suspension already this season.

Poor discipline aside, it is clear that Spurs’ new head coach is a big fan of the 27-year-old, and not so much of his Danish counterpart.

Bissouma has rewarded his manager’s faith with some strong displays this season, setting an early precedent during Postecoglou’s first competitive game in charge of Spurs, a 2-2 draw away at Brentford on Sunday 13 August.

That day he won nine of his 12 ground duels, made three tackles, and four interceptions while also completing 91 per cent of his passes, with one of those passes proving key (Sofascore).

He proved he could do it in the big games too, impressing during Spurs’ 2-1 win over Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 30 September. On that occasion, he won eight of his 12 ground duels, completed 95 per cent of his passes and made four tackles.

It is clear to see from those numbers why Postecoglou is such a big fan of the former Brighton man, but what is not clear is why he seems to have such a strong disdain for starting Hojbjerg.

According to a recent comparison on Sky Sports News (17 January), there is actually very little to separate the two midfielders from a statistical point of view.

While Bissouma has completed double the number of take-ons Hojbjerg has (1.8 vs 0.9) and won more duels (7.6 vs 4.6) than the Dane per 90 minutes this season, there are areas where Hojbjerg excels.

The 28-year-old has completed more passes under pressure (64.2 vs 58.4), more passes into the final third (12.6 vs 7.3) and more sprints (13.9 vs 11.1) than Bissouma per 90 minutes of action under Postecoglou.

While it is, of course, difficult to base everything on these particular stats, Postecoglou’s demands for his team to play a high-pressing, front-foot brand of football make it a surprise that he prefers Bissouma over Hojbjerg so strongly, considering the latter has made more sprints and passes into the final third per 90 minutes this season.

There will of course be other areas of Hojbjerg’s game which are of concern to the 58-year-old, but from what these particular stats suggest, the former Southampton man deserves a run in the team to prove he can adapt to his brand-new manager’s needs at Spurs.

Tottenham News recently suggested (17 January) that Spurs could be doomed by starting Hojbjerg in the FA Cup against Manchester City on Friday 26 January, but this recent analysis by Sky Sports News suggests he might have more to offer than first meets the eye.

He has been playing a very different style of football over the past few years, and perhaps just needs a run of consistent games to get himself up to speed.

With Bissouma currently competing at the African Cup of Nations, alongside Pape Matar Sarr, now is the perfect opportunity for Hojbjerg to show Postecoglou what he is made of.

After his years of service to the club, he certainly deserves that chance.

In other Tottenham news, there is cause for optimism among Spurs supporters after Postecoglou praised a “really exciting” option within his squad.

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