Tottenham nightmare as Pedro Porro misses first-team training ahead of Crystal Palace
Tottenham right-back Pedro Porro is facing a race against time to be fit for the Crystal Palace clash.
Spurs will welcome Palace to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a Premier League London derby on Saturday 2 March.
Ange Postecoglou’s side will be looking to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat against Wolves on Saturday 17 February and build some momentum in the race for Champions League football.
Aston Villa currently occupy fourth place and have a five-point advantage over Tottenham, albeit having played a game more.
With a crunch clash at Villa Park to come on Sunday 10 March, Postecoglou will be hoping to take his players to the West Midlands on a high. However, picking up three points against Palace won’t be an easy task.
Following the departure of Roy Hodgson, Oliver Glasner has taken over at Selhurst Park and the Austrian got off to a great start with a 3-0 win over Burnley on Saturday 24 February.
The Eagles will make the trip north of the river full of confidence, and Porro’s potential absence will only increase the visitors’ belief that they can leave North London with a result.
As per the Evening Standard (28 February), after missing the clash with Wolves due to a muscle injury, Porro has yet to return to full first-team training as of Wednesday.
It means that Postecoglou is facing the increasing likelihood of being without his first-choice right-back once more.
How important is Pedro Porro for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou?
Postecoglou’s admiration of Porro is no big secret.
Speaking after Porro scored an incredible winner in Spurs’ 1-0 FA Cup victory over Burnley on Friday 5 January, the Australian was full of praise for his defender, telling the Tottenham Hotspur Official Website (5 January), “Credit to Pedro. He’s been outstanding for us this year. He works awfully hard at his game, but he’s also an exceptional footballer.”
And it is hard to disagree with the 58-year-old’s glowing assessment.
As per fbref, the 24-year-old has been key both going forward and defensively for Spurs this season. He ranks in the top six per cent of his positional peers in the Premier League this term for the number of assists he has provided (0.30 per 90) and the top four per cent for the number of shots he has had (1.61 per 90).
He is key to Postecoglou’s attacking style of play, ranking in the top nine per cent of Premier League fullbacks for the number of passes he has played into the penalty area (1.35 per 90) and crosses he has played into the box (6.19 per 90).
His constant threat going forward is emphasised by his position in the top five per cent of his positional peers in England’s top flight for goal-creating actions (0.44 per 90).
Defensively he has been equally as impressive. Porro sits in the 99th percentile for the number of tackles he has made in the attacking third (0.57 per 90), as well as the 92nd percentile for the number of dribblers he has tackled (1.92 per 90), demonstrating that he often gets the better of his opposing winger.
In addition, he ranks in the top five per cent for the number of blocks he has made (2.13 per 90) and passes that he has blocked (1.57 per 90).
His absence against Wolves clearly had an impact as Spurs were beaten at home, and Postecoglou will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself if Porro is once again unavailable this weekend.
In other Tottenham news, Palace could have a key defender of their own missing on Saturday.
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