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Spurs v Posh Preview!

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With our hopes of survival in the Championship dwindling by the game, it`s great to be able to leave those blues behind and look ahead to a fixture in the greatest domestic club cup competition there is, the FA Cup.

After Barry Fry complained about our rubbish draws in the Carling Cup, we drew a plum tie, against Spurs, in the third round of the FA Cup. On paper it looks to be mission impossible but Posh can go there and give Harry Redknapp a bloody nose, can we not?

Vital Quotes:

After watching, not too long ago, Spurs score 9 against Wigan, the fear is that the North London side could go on the goal rampage again, especially when you consider how easily we shipped four, against Cardiff City, in forty-five mad minutes not too long ago.

Therefore, it`s probably not an under-statement to imply that Joe Lewis could be the busier of the two keepers on Saturday. Lewis, who had to be substituted against Cardiff after picking up an injury, has spoken about the fixture to the local media, commenting,

‘We have no idea who we will be playing against, but we do know that we will be up against quality players.”2

‘Harry Redknapp will pick a team he expects can win the game and we have to be prepared to roll our sleeves up, give our all and concentrate for the entire 90 minutes.”

‘We probably won’t be able to make a single error at the back tomorrow as we will certainly get punished, but I am confident we can go there and defend well as a team.”

‘If we can do that we can get a result because we fancy we can score against anyone. We won’t get as many chances as normal against Spurs, but if we can take the ones that do come along we can get through to the next round.”

‘On a personal level I am really looking forward to pitting my wits against some great players. I know Peter Crouch quite well and I have been with the likes of Tom Huddlestone and Aaron Lennon in England Under 21 squads.”

‘They are all top, top players but I can’t wait to compete against them and the rest of the lads are the same.”

‘I’ve never even been to White Hart Lane, but it’s a great stadium and a sell-out crowd so I expect us all to be able to raise our game.’


There are some confident words in there, let`s hope they`re well founded or else it could be a nightmarish experience.

Spurs Team News:

Harry Redknapp has a plethora of talent from which to pick his starting eleven. The biggest question surrounds who he`ll decide to leave out to rest.

Definitely out are Aaron Lennon and Benoit Assou Ekotto, both of whom picked up injuries in fixtures over the festive period.

Another candidate for a rest is Jermain Defoe who has been troubled with a foot injury.

But that still leaves the likes of Huddlestone, Jenas, Krancjar, Crouch, Keane et al to contend with.

Player to watch: Peter Crouch

Always worth giving some stick to because of his freakish physique, nevertheless this much travelled striker tends to give value for money whoever he plays against.

Posh Team News:

Mark Cooper takes his squad to White Hart Lane knowing that two recent acquisitions, Exodus Geohaghan and Josh Simpson are unable to participate as both are cup-tied, the former having played for Kettering Town and the latter for Histon Town in the competition earlier this season.

However, he should welcome back Joe Lewis with the keeper having recovered from a knock that saw him substituted against Cardiff City in that epic encounter.

Ryan Bennett who missed that scintillating match with mild concussion, diagnosed before kick-of, could also return.

Player to watch: George Boyd

The perfect stage for George who has been far and away our best performer this season. Can George pull the strings and orchestrate a shock result?

Match Facts & Stats

Our paths have crossed before in the FA Cup, back in 1994 and what an encounter it was. Attempts at settling the tie failed with Spurs scraping through on penalties.

With regards to current form, Spurs are unbeaten in their last four games and haven`t conceded a goal whilst Posh have only won once in their last eleven attempts, in all competitions.

Ref Watch:

The man in the middle will be Lee Mason.

Match Prediction:

Common sense says that this tie will only have one winner and that will inevitably be Spurs. In fact I`d hazard a guess that not many outside of Peterborough would give us an inkling of a chance of winning this game and he form book shows why. In all honesty it`d be a great achievement if we were to get a draw but can we not hope for a miracle, they do happen in cup competitions you know! I`ll go 1-1 at White Hart Lane and then the miracle will occur at London Road on a replay date that has still to be announced.

Next Fixtures:

The trip to Spurs is followed by a trip to Hillsborough, next Saturday, to take on Sheffield Wednesday in a Championship game.

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