Are these the reasons behind a much-improved Tottenham Hotspur?

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5 – Significant defensive improvements

Speaking of the defence, it is the final area that Tottenham have improved upon massively in comparison to last campaign. They have only conceded 18 goals in 22 games, the fewest in the league. This puts them on track for a stingy 31 goals allowed come the final day if the current rate is maintained, while last season they let in 53! Champions of that year; Chelsea, let in 32. Their defence was heralded as being one of the main reasons that they could stroll to the title, so surely Spurs’ defence must be considered to be one of their greatest assets too. Much of Tottenham’s success at the back is down to the Belgian duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen (rated 2nd and 4th by Squawka in defensive aspects), as they allow the fewest dribbles past (7.7) , after giving up the 3rd fewest last year with 8.3. The two Belgian counterparts have also been dominant in the air, meaning that the fact they are allowing more crosses into the box has not hurt them so far. The wingbacks; Danny Rose (excellent in pressing) and Kyle Walker (leading the team with 2.8 interceptions per game), have been solid and Hugo Lloris has consistently been up there with the best in the division in his position.

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As far as their future is concerned, Spurs really do have a lot to look forward to, both this season and beyond. A purely statistical 4% chance at winning the title does not seem like much, but nobody really thought The Lilywhites would even have a shot this term, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal all projected ahead of them. While Leicester City have surprised everybody and Chelsea have extraordinarily disappointing, were it not for the exploits of Mahrez and the storybook stuff of Jamie Vardy, Spurs would be the talk of the Premier League. Under Pochettino, they have a revamped squad with a confidence in their abilities, that has already improved tremendously.

The predicted statistics also favour them. In terms of total shots, they are on pace to eclipse their total of 527 from 2014/15 by 81 shots! They are also doing a better job of shooting from closer (projected inside the penalty area shots are 287 to 227). Goals are predicted to reach 66, a whopping ten more than last season. The notable improvement is not from the six-yard box, but rather from the penalty area as a whole, where Tottenham are on pace to score 41 goals from, a huge upgrade over the 33 last time out. Their passing game has also seen a great improvement to 12.3 key passes/game from 10.7.

A solid goalkeeper with the best defence (Alderweireld and Vertonghen) in the Premier League is topped by both established and emerging stars in midfield, such as Alli and Dier, and spearheaded by the 12 goals of Harry Kane. It appears that after transforming Southampton, Pochettino has done it again!

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Sources:

Footballintheclouds

Squawka

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