Tottenham Hotspur go second behind Dele Alli to Kieran Trippier connection

Tottenham Hotspur are in a “tough period” due to their new stadium project, team manager Mauricio Pochettino said, citing the experience of rival team Arsenal, who also suffered after the switch to the Emirates Stadium.

“I think it is great, the feeling is fantastic”, Pochettino said on Sky Sports when asked about jumping into second spot.

Arsenal have finished above Tottenham every season since 1996 and many Gunners fans jokingly like to celebrate “St Totteringham’s Day” – the point in each campaign when it becomes mathematically impossible for Spurs to overtake them.

Watford is tenth in the league with 32 points having won 9 games, drawn 5 and lost 9.

Watford strove for an equaliser during the latter stages-bringing on Troy Deeney-but Hugo Lloris and his defence held firm, and Spurs moved ahead of Manchester City into second place. “To be honest, because we see him in training we expect this kind of goalkeeping in games as well, but of course we are very happy about his saves and his performance”. “We need to be focused because they are a very tough team and we expect a very hard game”.

“They are still in the FA Cup, of course, and the Europa League is looming”.

The Tottenham manager admitted that the decision not to sign a back-up striker for Harry Kane in January was due in part to the new “pragmatic player trading” announced by chairman Daniel Levy in September.

‘I feel very proud of the players, ‘ he said. Everything is going well for the team at the moment, with the purchase of Toby Alderweireld from Atletico Madrid and Heung-min Son from Bayer Leverkusen helping to compliment the existing squad.

Dele Alli is a doubt with an illness that forced him off in the week.

Ryan Mason has recovered from an ankle injury, but Jan Vertonghen and Clinton Njie are both out with knee problems.

Asked whether Tottenham could go all the way and win the league, Flores replied: “Why not?” Could they be the dark horse for a competition win this season? We still need to be more clinical, we created a lot of chances today but need to score more.

“There are a lot of factors in football but if you have good balance between younger and experienced players, it is a flawless mix to try to achieve big things”.

The other change sees Valon Behrami make way for Mario Suarez to make his debut.