There is a strange atmosphere in North London today, one that has turned the most die-hard of Arsenal fans into enthusiastic Lilywhites and N17's most loyal supporters into card-carrying Sky Blues.
The reason? Tottenham Hotspur's potentially title-deciding Premier League clash with Manchester City.
Now, the Spurs faithful might well be praying for an away win in this one – and who can blame them – but there is no way that Ange Postecoglou will be going out there tonight with an ambition to do anything other than collect all three points.
So, with that in mind, he should look to make a change to the team that beat Burnley on Saturday and drop Oliver Skipp.
Oliver Skipp's performance against Burnley
Now, the idea behind dropping Skipp back to the bench for is not because he was poor on Saturday. In fact, the Englishman was reasonably impressive in the unfamiliar role of left-back and could potentially be deployed there in the future if Postecoglou is left with no other options.
However, the key word in that appraisal was 'reasonably'; as for all his good work, he wasn't faultless, and as a result, football.london's Alasdair Gold gave him a fair 6/10 rating on the day, writing that he 'couldn't get back in time for Larsen's goal' and that he 'hasn't got the recovery pace' required to keep the defence tight or offer a threat going forward.
This review of the 23-year-old's performance is backed up by his statistics from the game. In his 75 minutes of action, he was dribbled past once, failed to take a single shot, registered an expected assist figure of 0.01, lost the ball five times, didn't attempt a single dribble, and failed to play a single key pass or cross.
Minutes
75'
Goals + Assists
0
Expected Goals
0.00
Expected Assists
0.01
Dribbled Past
1
Attempted Dribbles
0
Shots
0
Lost Possession
5
Key Passes
0
Crosses
0
In all, he was reasonably solid as a stand-in full-back, but his total lack of pace or attacking threat left him vulnerable at times, and against a team like City, that weakness could be the downfall of the entire team.
Why Micky van de Ven should start on the left
So, with Skipp out of the lineup and Emerson Royal simply not good enough, summer signing Micky van de Ven has to come in and start on the left side of the defence.
The Dutchman's move to left-back will leave a space in the centre of the defence, but this could be filled by January signing Radu Dragusin, as with the season coming to an end, he has to get some more game time to justify his arrival.
However, the most important change is at left-back, and there are a few reasons why Postecoglou should make this decision.
Appearances
132
15
1
Goals
7
1
0
Assists
5
3
0
Goal Involvements per Match
0.09
0.26
0.00
The first is that while the former Wolfsburg ace has primarily played as a centre-back in his career, he has started 15 games at left-back before, in which he has made the most of his left foot, scoring one goal and providing three assists.
The second reason is that one of his biggest strengths was one of Skipp's primary weaknesses: his pace.
In February, the "dominant" and "tenacious" star, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, broke the Premier League record for the fastest sprint, clocking in at an astounding 37.38km/h vs Brentford, which could be the key to helping Postecoglou unlock City's defence.
Lastly, the "complete" defender, as described by Kulig, has become more of a goal threat in recent weeks, scoring one that was chalked off against Arsenal and then the winner against Burnley, suggesting that in a full-back role that allows him to get even further up the pitch, he could become more pivotal to how the Lilywhites play.
Ultimately, while Skipp was okay on the weekend, his lack of pace and power could be a real issue tonight against the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Co. The Dutchman, however, may well help silence them on a big night.
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