Antonio Conte has been preparing his Tottenham side for their London derby against West Ham on Sunday. The match will be Spurs' second of the week, after their 2-0 victory over Brighton on Wednesday.
David Moyes' side have also already had a win this week, after their 2-0 win against Sevilla has secured them a place in the quarter finals of the Europa League, where they will face Lyon. Both sides are level on points in the league table and will be hoping to secure maximum points, to help them in the ongoing top four race.
Conte's side may feel they have an advantage over West Ham, who will have had one less day preparation for the London derby and had to play 120 minutes to secure their spot in the next stage of the European competition. However, as the Italian pointed out in his pre match press conference, there is another side to their preparation.
"For sure, on one hand they played 120 minutes but when you get this type of result it gives you confidence, enthusiasm and strength," he admitted. "For sure, it’ll be a really tough game for both teams. We’re in the same position and we have the same target."
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Ahead of the tie at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, football.london takes a look at things spotted during the training session in preparation for the game.
Dejan Kulusevski, the star man
Dejan Kulusevski has got off to a flying start, since his arrival in N17 in January. The 21-year-old has already scored two goals and registered four assists in just eight Premier League appearances, making an immediate impact on Conte's Tottenham side.
The Swedish international's former Juventus teammate who also moved to Spurs during the winter window, Rodrigo Bentancur, has also made a solid start to his Tottenham career. Both have already received praise from Conte and this continued when he was asked about the duo in his pre match press conference.
"For sure, to come in in the way that they did, in a short period, was positive for us," the Italian admitted. "It’s important when you sign young players to understand that the league is very difficult and before signing new players you have to check many qualities.
"He has to be good technically, you can work and be good tactically and you can work to improve this situation but at the same time they have to be strong, physically, fast and with a good engine. In these two players we found all the characteristics for this league. Then they’re very young," Conte added. "Don’t forget they’re arriving from a club where the pressure is already very high. For this reason they were ready to manage this situation."
Kulusevski showed that he had clearly settled in well during Tottenham's most recent training session. In the clip that Spurs put online, it started with Conte having a joke around with the Swede.
Kulusevski, Eric Dier, Matt Doherty and a few of the other Tottenham players were having a laugh with their boss and the Italian went to pat the 21-year-old on the back as he could be heard jokingly saying, "I'm very sad."
As the players began walking over to begin their training session, Pierre Emile Hojbjerg put his arm around Kulusevski and faced the camera before saying, "The magician from Sweden", whilst pointing at the attacker. This reiterates the solid start Kulusevski has had with not only his contribution on the pitch, but also the rapport with his teammates off the pitch.
Relationships shown
The training session was full of smiles and laughter as the Lilywhites prepare for their weekend game. Conte's squad would've got a boost from their midweek victory, especially after the disappointment from the 3-2 defeat to Man United last weekend.
After the midweek win, Hojbjerg put a picture of him and Kulusevski on his Instagram story and captioned it "My Swedish brother". With the aforementioned scenario in training involving the duo, it seems that the Dane has taken a liking to the 21-year-old and they seem to have already formed a good friendship.
On Thursday, Matt Doherty took part in a Q&A on Tottenham's official Twitter page where he answered some questions in the comments. @topspurmatthew asked the Irishman who his "best bud" was at Spurs and he replied: "Eric and Harry, because we have movie nights before games and we have a lot in common. MD."
This bond was another shown in training as the trio were lined up next to each other as the Spurs squad started the training session with a jog around the pitch and were laughing with one another as they made their way round.
Working hard
Sunday's game is important for the top four race but also due to the nature of the game, with it being a London derby. Conte reiterated this point in his press conference and explained the importance of the fans.
"It's a derby and don't forget that a derby is always difficult, but I think that my team, we are now in a good moment of form. We are improving a lot. We try to do everything to get three points," he said. "It would be very important to have a fantastic atmosphere around us in the stadium. Our fans, they have to play an important part in the game."
The training session saw goalkeeping drills and passing exercises with the players shown looking in full concentration as they prepare for the weekend tie. However the Italian clearly needs the home fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to be the '12th man' on Sunday and give the Lilywhites a boost, in the hope they can secure maximum points.
