Tuesday is not too far away as Tottenham Hotspur prepare to welcome back Champions League football at N17, where Thomas Frank’s side will be looking to make a statement against Villarreal at home.
And the Europa League winners come into this game with a bit of momentum behind them after their 3-0 win over West Ham on the weekend. But the win doesn’t mean that head coach Thomas Frank will have an easy time picking his team, given that the Dane has a big call to make in attack. He has to determine whether to stick with Richarlison or bring his deadline day arrival to the lineup with Randal Kolo Muani in that #9 role.
If we are talking about this, let’s get the first thing straight. Given his performances in the past weeks, Richarlison has done enough and more to keep his place in the eleven.
The Brazilian has worked his way back into some elite form. Maybe the best he has been moving since he joined Tottenham in that £60m move from Everton. It looks like Richy has got back some sense of sharpness in pre-season.
And that is something we are watching on the pitch, given how he has started the new season with goals. He is also pressing quite intensively and intellectually, but then is that what Tottenham want against Villarreal?
Playing the Spanish giants is supposedly a different sort of challenge than the West Ham that Tottenham played on Saturday. Marcelino’s side are expected to be more compact and disciplined, one that you find difficult to get the better of when playing with structured possession. And this is exactly why we need to be talking about whether playing Kolo Muani upfront is a more effective option for the North Londoners…
Kolo Muani has that ability to stretch compact defences
Now the Frenchman brings something to the table that Richy doesn’t, and if I were to describe that in one word, it would be ‘fluidity’. The thing with the former Frankfurt star is that he just doesn’t stay in that penalty zone awaiting others to get the ball to him. Kolo Muani instead likes to drift into channels, and this ends up giving some width to the attack. This has a domino effect more often than not, as it ends up pulling defenders out of their comfort zones.
So against Villarreal tomorrow, who are likely to start a duo of Juan Foyth and Jorge Cuenca at the heart of the defence, putting Kolo Muani between them can end up being crucial. Given that the PSG loanee moves horizontally, and that creates gaps for Xavi Simons, who then cuts inside from the left. Alternatively, you can also get Mohammed Kudus more narrow from the right.
And the thing is that Kolo Muani is also really underrated when it comes to his link-up play ability.
If you put this back-to-goal work and his ability to combine with midfield runners together, it can help the North Londoners avoid falling into predictable patterns, which is generally a common problem when most sides are facing compact defences.
Richy has his own merits
When you speak a lot of things about Kolo Muani, there are also clear understandings for having Richarlison start. The Brazilian is definitely more relentless when it comes to pressing. And then the former Everton ace loves to make that penalty box a bit scrappy, which makes it really difficult for defenders to deal with.
In a game where Tottenham might only get a few clear-cut chances (if Villarreal have their compact structure right), then Thomas Frank can count on Richy’s knack for being in the right place at the right time (which he has been doing a lot this season).
Yes, there are chances that Villarreal defenders might positionally get too comfortable. But it’s not that there are no cases of starting him tomorrow.
Author Opinion
I feel that Thomas Frank should go for a side which is not going to be too predictable (especially given how Villarreal could come out trying to frustrate the North Londoners). It depends on how the Dane head coach wants the game to go and which is the best way that he feels Spurs can come away with all points.
If you had to pick one, who would you start between Richarlison and Kolo Muani tomorrow? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
