Preview: Tottenham Hotspur looking ahead to life without Gareth Bale
As the Gareth Bale saga nears its conclusion, Tottenham prepare for life without their star player who had been such an integral part of the squad over the years. Last season, it was the Welshman’s efforts that saw Spurs mount a strong challenge for a place in the Champions League. Unfortunately it was not enough. However, this time around, Andre Villas-Boas’ side have armed themselves heavily during the summer transfer window to make sure that events from last season do not occur again.
The likes of Paulinho, Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue and Nacer Chadli have come in to improve the depth of the squad and it still remains to be seen whether Anzhi star Willian will choose the North London side as his next destination. All in all, the departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, something that has been in the cards for a long time, will not necessarily weaken Spurs.
Gylfi Sigurdsson was a class act during a loan spell at Swansea two seasons ago but failed to reach the same height last campaign with Spurs. However, the midfielder is hopeful to play in a position where he is at his best.
"It will be nice to play there again, I enjoy playing there," he said.
"It's taken a bit of a longer time than I wanted (to settle) here at Tottenham and hopefully I can do well this season.
"Hopefully I'll stay there behind the striker because Soldado and Jermain (Defoe) are top strikers and it's quite easy and good to play behind them.
"As long as I'm playing I don't really mind, but that's one of my better positions — playing behind the striker.
"I think that's probably what I prefer but if the gaffer wants me to play on the left or right side then I'm quite happy to play there."
Both sides registered excellent wins on Thursday night in the Europa League but as Spurs found out to their cost, playing in a competition like this with a limited squad complicates things. Swansea won their Europa League game 5-2 against Petrolul Ploiesti but now face a challenging task to win their first league game of the season 67 hours after the final whistle was blown last night. However, as Spurs were also involved in a Europa League game against Dinamo Tblisi both sides will be more or less on equal levels in terms of match fitness.
After losing out to Manchester United at home on the opening day of the season, Michael Laudrup’s side need to recover as quickly as possible in order to avoid a loss of confidence so early in the season. After a stellar 2011/2012 season, Newcastle United found it hard to manage domestic and European affairs and failed in spectacular fashion, Swansea will have to work hard to ensure that a similar fate does not await them.
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
Watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Swansea City live on Sunday, August 25, 2013:
In USA at 11:00am ET on NBC Sports Network, NBC Sports Live Extra, Mun2, DirecTV, SiriusXM FC
Fans in other parts of the world can watch the match live on their local channels. For further details of TV and Radio listings visit the Tottenham vs Swansea match page. You can also enjoy live scores on LiveSoccerTV right as the referee's whistle blows at White Hart Lane this Sunday.
