Hugo Lloris out of Europa League tie with shoulder injury

The French global was in fine form once again as his side earned a vital away victory at the Etihad but he will miss their Europa League tie with Fiorentina on Thursday night.

The Spurs captain and keeper injured his shoulder in last Sunday’s 2-1 win at Manchester City.

Fate has a amusing way of placing two distant teams together, and having never crossed paths in competitive fixtures before last season, we now look forward to the second consecutive round of 32 meeting between Tottenham Hotspur and Fiorentina.

To come within touching distance of emulating the heroics of Bill Nicholson’s team, that boasted Tottenham greats such as Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones and Bobby Smith, Pochettino has infused a club for so long derided as serial underachievers with a genuine belief they can beat anyone and the results have been remarkable.

“We feel if we work very hard, with everyone doing their job, we can beat any team”, Pochettino said.

Tottenham will pose more of a threat to Fiorentina in the Europa League this season compared to 12 months ago, according to Paulo Sousa.

Full-back Danny Rose has been among Spurs’ most improved players this term and believes his coach’s methods are beginning to pay off. Pochettino routinely includes academy players in his training sessions and each of them comes on the recommendation of McDermott. “Both teams have changed a lot in the way of playing and dealing the game”.

“My attitude was to try and win the game (last year) and tomorrow it is the same”. Lloris has kept nine clean sheets in the Premier League this season and has been one of the keys to the club’s flirtation with a title tilt. Whether they will be lifting the Premier League trophy come May remains to be seen, but there success so far is testament to the incredible job Pochettino is doing at White Hart Lane.