Matthew Chadder

Sat 26 August 2023 10:30, UK

Ange Postecoglou is preparing to take Tottenham outside of London for a Premier League match for the first time, as his players get set for a lunchtime kickoff with Bournemouth on Saturday 26 August.

It has so far been a positive start to life in England for the Australian. Despite a tough couple of opening fixtures, his side have come through largely unscathed and with a big win under their belt.

Going to Brentford is no easy task as plenty of teams have found out over the past two seasons, however, Spurs dominated proceedings when the two sides met during their opening match of the season, and arguably deserved more than the 2-2 draw they eventually walked away with.

Since building the new stadium, Tottenham were yet to win at their shiny new home against Manchester United (soccerbase) until Postecoglou arrived, as he led his team to a memorable 2-0 victory over arguably England’s most successful club side. Not a bad way to make your home debut as manager by any means.

Which brings us to Bournemouth away, a place where Spurs have lost just once during their previous six visits. However, they have also won just one of their previous nine games on the road and Postecoglou will be keen to start making a change to that unfortunate trend.

If the 57-year-old has any chance of doing so, these are some key areas that Tottenham News has identified as potential battle points.

Getting in behind out wide

As can be seen from highlights of the Cherries’ match against West Ham on Saturday 12 August, there will be chances to exploit the Bournemouth full-backs.

As seen in the image above, Said Benrahama picks up the ball out wide, close to the touchline, bringing his full-back with him. This leaves plenty of space for Emerson Palmieri to run into as a massive gap emerges in the Bournemouth backline.

The West Ham player continues his run and Benrahama ends up picking him out, leading to a cross that was not converted. And while the Hammers didn’t score from this chance, it demonstrates the kind of area Spurs can hurt their opponents in.

It also matches the exact blueprint of the way that Tottenham like to play under Postecoglou. By having either Son Heung-min or Dejan Kulusevski hug the touchline out wide, and allowing the full-backs, whether that be Emerson Royal, Pedro Porro or Destiny Udogie, to make runs through the inside channel.

This showcases that there will be opportunities to do that as long as they can get it right.

Bournemouth press can cause danger

While there will be areas of the pitch that Spurs can look to exploit, the Cherries will also pose plenty of threat of their own, especially playing in front of their own fans at a noisy Vitality Stadium.

When they made the trip to Anfield they took the lead early, and their pressing was key to the goal that they scored.

In the image above, Liverpool can be seen trying to play it out from the back as Trent Alexander-Arnold picks the ball up in midfield, with two players from the visiting side quickly on his case.

This represents a similar area of the field where Yves Bissouma likes to receive the ball and turn, as shown during the opening matches of the season thus far.

Alexander-Arnold loses the ball and straightaway three Bournemouth players are making runs forward, led by number nine Dominic Solanke. This eventually leads to a goal and is a warning to players such as Bissouma in the Tottenham team to not be too careless with the ball or take too much time against the Cherries.

Alertness in the box

Another key area in the lunchtime showdown will be in the penalty area, particularly in and around the six-yard box, with Neto showing against Liverpool that he is capable of spilling shots here and there.

In the above image, Dominik Szoboszlai can be seen lining up a shot from distance, and forward Diogo Jota is on alert in the box, making sure to keep himself onside.

Neto parries the shot right into the path of Jota who then has a simple tap in from close range. This will be a sign to Brazil striker Richarlison to be alert in the box, with the out-of-form frontman desperately in need of a goal.

Postecoglou asks his players to shoot as often as possible, and if some of the midfielders can test the goalkeeper from distance, Richarlison could benefit from any mistake by the keeper in the box.

In other Tottenham news, the Under-21s maintained their winning start to their Premier League Two campaign.