Enzo Maresca singles out Tottenham star who can be Postecoglou’s ‘solution’ vs Chelsea

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The mood in the respective camps of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur could hardly be more different ahead of Sunday’s clash between Enzo Maresca’s team and Ange Postecoglou’s outfit.

Tottenham’s latest defeat – away to AFC Bournemouth on Thursday night – scrubbed even more of the shine off that 4-0 obliteration of Manchester City.

In fact, in probably the most typically Tottenham fact of all time, that Etihad masterclass is Tottenham’s only win in their last six matches. And if Ange Postecoglou’s perennial coupon-busters are to have any chance of bouncing back against London rivals Chelsea, they will need to defend a whole lot better than they did against Galatasaray, Ipswich Town and latterly Bournemouth.

Chelsea are, after all, the Premier League’s top scorers. Maresca’s rampant Blues side smashed Southampton 5-1 in midweek, taking their tally to 31 goals from just 14 matches.

Fortunately, Tottenham should have Cristian Romero back when Chelsea arrive in North London.

And the timing of the Argentine’s return to fitness – Romero missed Tottenham’s last five matches with an ankle and a toe problem – could certainly have been a little better from Maresca’s perspective.

Enzo Maresca thinks Cristian Romero could be Tottenham’s defensive ‘solution’

“We try always to exploit [the opposition], no matter on the other team or the defenders they have there,” the former Manchester City youth coach said during his pre-match press conference.

“I think Romero can be back, so probably Romero can be the solution for them in this moment. But we will see.”

Postecoglou, coming under serious criticism for the first time since taking over at Tottenham, stopped short of confirming Romero’s availability during his own presser. But the Aussie will give him every chance to prove his fitness, especially with Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies unavailable.

“Too early again [for Davies to play]. He’ll go for a scan today. We’re talking 10 hours after [the Bournemouth loss], so we’ll find out more,” Postecoglou said. “Cuti [Romero] is due to train.

“We’re not doing much today but we’ll see how he goes tomorrow.”

There are now eight places and just as many points between Chelsea – currently the closest challengers to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table – and lowly Spurs.

Maresca is throwing his weight behind his opposite number, however, even if a heavy defeat at the hands of a local rival could prove to be the final straw for the less patient members of Tottenham’s fanbase.

TBR understands that Postecoglou’s job is not under immediate threat from Daniel Levy at this stage though.

Enzo Maresca backs Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou

“They have very good players with a very good manager,” Maresca says, Tottenham retaining their identity even if results have been poor. “It is very clear what they want to do on and off the ball.

“What kind of problems they have, I don’t know. You would have to be there to understand the problems. But they are a fantastic team. Two weeks ago, they beat City 4-0, so they are a very good team.”

“We take every game as a reference. We try to do things better every game. Our reference is just day by day, in the training sessions, and we can see clearly the players are involved, they are happy. They are enjoying the moment, enjoying the way we want to play.

“And, then, every game is a test for us. It was a test against Southampton, [against Aston] Villa. It will be a test against Tottenham and the next one. We just try to improve day by day.”