A lot of people in the football world disliked the commentary made by Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino after his side crashed out of the FA Cup over the weekend, but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp isn’t one of them. The Reds boss said that Pochettino is in the right for prioritizing the Premier League above the domestic cup competitions.
“You need money for improving a football team, we cannot change that. It’s not the only way but it’s a big thing,” Klopp said at his prematch press conference today.
“If a team is developing well and you want to keep players and develop the squad [it] will not be cheaper the year after. That’s the truth. I know that people probably didn’t like what Poch said, but it’s so easy from the outside looking in. From a club point of view, the best competition to win is the Premier League because then you are in the top four and you won a big thing.”
“You want to win the other competitions, but that doesn’t guarantee you the money for the next year. That’s why top four is so important. You should ask the owners much more about what they think about that. They would probably say: ‘Yes, it’s really important.'”
That all said, let’s take a look at who Pochettino might include in his first team tomorrow night as he continues his quest to finish in the top four again.
Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI Prediction vs Watford FC 4-3-3
Attack: Lucas Moura, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela
Midfield: Harry Winks, Eric Dier, Kieran Trippier
Defense: Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris
Tottenham Hotspur vs Watford FC FYIs
Kickoff: January 30, 8pm, Wembley Stadium
Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur win 58%, Draw 25%, Watford win 17%
Odds via Odds Checker: Tottenham Hotspur win 7/10, Draw 3/1, Watford win 19/4
Injury Report for both teams: go to this link
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 3, Watford 2
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.