Spurs assistant boss Steffen Freund spoke to his club's official website ahead of his side's Capital One Cup third round tie against Carlisle at Brunton Park this evening, Freund expecting a difficult game:
“It will be a difficult game and the game of the year for Carlisle. They’ve already beaten Ipswich in the last round and now Tottenham arrive. It will definitely be a difficult game for us but we go there with a strong squad. Of course there will be a few changes, we have had a difficult week, we played on Sunday, then Wednesday then Saturday against Manchester United. I have to say that the players’ attitude and performance has been so good in the last few weeks and we have to keep that going. The attitude has to be right. If we do that, we have the quality to beat Carlisle, for sure.”
Meanwhile Gareth Bale commented to his club's official website ahead of the match:
“It will be tough. It’s one of those games where they have Premier League opposition and they will be 100 per cent fired up to prove they can play against the top teams. We have to show our quality, do a professional job and try to get the victory.”
In team news for the visitors this evening they have six players missing through injury from their first team squad with defenders Kyle Naughton (foot), Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Younes Kaboul (both knee), midfielders Jake Livermore (groin) and Scott Parker (Achilles) and striker Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring) all sidelined. Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes is available after recovering from an ankle problem though, while two youngsters have left White Hart Lane on loan this week, fellow stopper Jordan Archer to Wycombe and defender Nathan Byrne to Crawley.
Over the years United have only faced Tottenham seven times, with two of those matches actually coming in a two-legged second round Coca-Cola cup tie in the 1997-98 season. United losing 3-2 at White Hart Lane in the first leg, Neale Fenn scoring for Spurs in the opening minute before Andy Couzens and Warren Aspinall netted for the Blues on 40 and 45 minutes respectively to give Carlisle a surprise 2-1 lead.
The home side though grabbing two late goals through Ruel Fox on 73 minutes and then Paul Mahorn five minutes later to give the Lilywhites a one goal lead to bring to Brunton Park. 13,571 fans were inside the ground then for the second leg, but United couldn't overturn their narrow deficit as Tottenham won 2-0 on the night, and therefore 5-2 on aggregate, with David Ginola scoring with a 43rd minute penalty before Chris Armstrong then netted on 51 minutes.
United meanwhile won 1-0 against Spurs in their first home game of the 1974-75 Division One season thanks to a Chris Balderstone penalty, with the only other two games played between the sides at Brunton Park coming in the FA Cup. Carlisle losing 3-1 in 1971-72 in a third round replay after drawing 1-1 at White Hart Lane, Dennis Martin being the scorer of United's consolation goal in Cumbria.
Carlisle also losing at home to Spurs the previous season in the 1970-71 campaign, this time in the fourth round and by a scoreline of 3-2, Martin finding the net again, while Bobby Owen also got himself on the United scoresheet. Finally on past games, away from home United have played two other games at Spurs, drawing both of them 1-1, Owen scoring in the 74-75 league game, while Stan Bowles found the net in the initial 71-72 third round FA Cup tie.
The referee for this evening's match is Kevin Friend from Leicester and he will be assisted down the lines by Andy Halliday from Ripon in North Yorkshire and Mick McDonough from the Tyne & Wear area. Meanwhile the fourth official is Eddie Ilderton from Shiremoor near Whitley Bay. The officials perhaps also responsible for overseeing 30 minutes of extra-time if the scores are level after 90 minutes, and then a penalty shoot-out if the two sides still can't be separated after 120 minutes of action.
*Footnote - should United make it through to the fourth round, which is neither seeded nor regionalised, then the Blues will be involved in the draw for that stage of the competition which will take place after the completion of the Manchester United v Newcastle United tie that is live on SKY Sports this evening.
Capital One Cup Fourth Round Qualifiers
Aston Villa
Bradford City
Chelsea
Leeds United
Middlesbrough
Southampton
Swansea City
Swindon Town
Sunderland
Wigan Athletic
Arsenal or Coventry City
Carlisle United or Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United or Newcastle United
Norwich City or Doncaster Rovers
Queens Park Rangers or Reading
West Bromwich Albion or Liverpool