Antonio Conte's first game as Tottenham manager comes in the Europa Conference League, as Spurs host Vitesse. Jake Osgathorpe thinks the managerial change will have the desired impact.
It is the start of another new era at Spurs on Thursday night, as Antonio Conte takes charge following the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo.
I am of the same opinion as Alex Keble, who wrote an excellent piece highlighting why Conte is a perfect fit for Spurs, and how he is a huge upgrade on his predecessor.
While he will have only taken two days of training at his new club, you can bet that the Italian's first impact will come defensively, amending a broken defensive shape and making his side tough to beat.After all, they had allowed 1.69 xGA per game through 10 league matches under Nuno.
Kick-off time: 20:00 GMT, Thursday
TV channel: BT Sport ESPN
They have been dysfunctional in attack this term, but the easiest thing to fix in a shorter space of time is the defence.
That is where Conte has been so good throughout his entire managerial career - making his team difficult to beat.Vitesse beat Spurs 1-0 in the Netherlands, but Nuno changed the whole team that day, resting his key starters - Conte will want to get off to a winning start so we can expect a full strength team this time around.
The Dutch side are inferior to Spurs in terms of talent, and now they face a Tottenham team who have a much better manager who will instil an identity immediately.
With that in mind, taking TOTTENHAM TO WIN TO NIL looks the bet.
Conte will be looking for a convincing defensive performance first off, but given the attacking quality likely to be on the pitch, a home win looks likely.
Tottenham v Vitesse best bets and score prediction
- 1.5pts Tottenham to win to nil at Evens (General)
Score prediction: Tottenham 2-0 Vitesse (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct at 1110 GMT (03/11/21)
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