The assignment for our young Blues is clear as nothing other than a win this weekend will confirm our survival in the PL2 division one. Leeds, although two points above us and currently safe, have played all their games. Our opponents today being Spurs provides an added edge to the fixture.

Last time out

In our last fixture we took on Blackburn Rovers and fell to a narrow 4-3 defeat at Ewood Park. We led the game at half-time, but we had no answer for Jack Vale who added two more goals to his first-half brace.

A win in that fixture would have meant that safety was already secured but we could not hang on for the victory despite a valiant effort.

Jayden Wareham scored from the spot and Thierno Ballo also grabbed a first-half brace as we were close to victory.

Despite this set-back, our young Blues will have a second opportunity to secure safety.

Revisiting the last fixture

We last faced the side from north London in our first game of the season and that ended 2-2.

We led by two goals to nil going into the break but in the second period of the game Tottenham hit back and levelled the scoring just after the hour mark

The game ended following a 90th-minute penalty save from Lucas Bergstrom.

That contest between the two sides saw Tottenham have 22 shots in total compared to our four. We will need to contain their potent attack force which contains Dilan Markanday who currently sits on 12 PL2 goals this season. The forward also scored in our first encounter with Spurs.

The form

Our opponents no matter what happens in this fixture will be one of the eight teams who will end the season with 10 or more wins.

Having said this, the young Spurs team this year have two wins in 11. Their two wins this year have come in the last five games but they have not been as consistent as they would want to be.

In our case we have fared only slightly better with three wins in our last 11 but one win in our last five with that victory coming against Brighton and Hove Albion. Neither side has been in scintillating form but with it being a derby game, we can expect an entertaining clash.

Manager’s words

Andy Myers was appointed head coach of the Under-23s in the summer of 2019 and after first- and second-place finishes in the 19/20 and 20/21 seasons respectively, he and his team find themselves in unfamiliar territory.However, Myers gave his thoughts on the season and how they can learn from this experience.‘The players are in a good place. Yes they were disappointed with the result against Blackburn and really that game can be seen as a reflection of our season where certain things just have not gone our way, but we will never stop trying to win games.’Myers continued by saying: ‘I cannot question the effort from the group and the important thing is that they give one last performance where they give everything and show what it means to play for this football club.’

There have been a number of players used in our development squad this season and Myers reiterated that this is an important learning curve for his players.

‘I have said to the players throughout their careers they will need to learn how to manage ups and downs and in this very moment, managing this situation that we all find ourselves in is a huge part of development.’