Tottenham Hotspur to get first taste of an Adebayor/Holtby partnership?

For all the doom and gloom around Tottenham Hotspur regarding the lack of options up front, Saturday's match with Newcastle United might the first occasion when they field what could well become their first choice attack.

Jermain Defoe's injury is bad news by any measure, but with Emmanuel Adebayor's Togo eliminated from the African Cup of Nations, and Lewis Holtby surely having earned himself a starting spot with his performances against Norwich and West Brom, the two should be given the chance to link up for the first time this weekend when Newcastle come to White Hart Lane.

Clint Dempsey and Jermain Defoe have both been excellent at times this season, but the Holtby/Adebayor pairing seems a far more natural fit for the 4-2-3-1 system that has been the norm under Andre Villas-Boas.

Holtby is a move creative, clever player than Dempsey, and his inclination for one touch passing - which will no doubt be infuriating on occasion - is exactly what's required to create chances in a congested final third. Adebayor has not been anything close to his best this season, but has the physical and technical attributes to be more successful as a lone striker than Defoe, and will hopefully locate his shooting boots with a trio of Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Holtby behind him.

The Togolese striker has been impressive for his country despite their exit from the tournament, and with any luck the desire he showed when rampaging around the pitch trying to get his team back into the game against Burkina Faso on Sunday will be brought back to north London. The run of matches for Togo will also have helped, and he should be a sharper, fitter player than he was before he left for Africa.

The weekend's match against a resurgent Newcastle should be an accurate approximation of where this Spurs team are, and how likely they are to claim a Champions League spot. Alan Pardew's team will be confident after the wins over Aston Villa and Chelsea, and if Spurs can take three points from the match it will be a welcome boost, particularly if the victory is built on the back of an exciting new front four.

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Comments

[mikeyspurs]

You said " he should be a sharper, fitter player than he was before he left for Africa." He's said he's "exhausted"! So don't hold your breath, let alone 'salivate at the prospect'!! Every time I've seen Adebayor this season I've been frothing at the mouth!!! I hope I'm wrong but Holtby's got more chance of getting on the score-sheet than Ade who's got to be one of the worst finishers around. I'm just hearing we turned down £10m for Siggurdson. Add that to the £5m for Hudd and we could have put that towards a striker. As for being short in midfiled, remember Tom Carrol anyone?