· Spurs 0 M'brough 0 - 26.10.03
· Carling Cup Quarter-Final report - "Boro" win on penalties
· Last Year's Game - 5-1 to M'brough
· Premiership Review - Match 27 2002-03 season

Full Record of Spurs -v- Middlesbrough

Prem          Pl  W  D  L   For- Ag  Pts
Home           9  2  4  3    8 - 13  10
Away           8  2  3  3    8 - 12   9
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Total(Prem)   17  4  7  6   16 - 25  19
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Football Lge
Home(Div 1)   25 15  4  6   62 - 40  36
Away(Div 1)   25  3  6 16   25 - 52  13
=======================================
Total(Div 1)  50 18 10 22   87 - 92  49
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Football Lge
Home(Div 2)    1  0  0  1    2 -  5   0
Away(Div 2)    1  0  0  1    0 -  3   0
=======================================
Total(Div 2)   2  0  0  2    2 -  8   0
=======================================
Total(Prem)   17  4  7  6   16 - 25  19
Total(Div 1)  50 18 10 22   87 - 92  49
Total(Div 2)   2  0  0  2    2 -  8   0
=======================================
Grand Total   69 22 17 30  105 -125  68
=======================================

Middlesbrough

M'brough   3  3   Leicester
Leeds      0  3   M'brough
M'brough   0  1   Blackburn
Man Utd    2  3   M'brough
Newcastle  2  1   M'brough
B'mingham  3  1   M'brough

Spurs

Leeds      0  1   Spurs
Spurs      2  1   Liverpool
Fulham     2  1   Spurs
Spurs      4  3   P'tsmouth
Charlton   2  4   Spurs
Spurs      4  4   Leicester

Pos           P  W  D  L  F -A  GD  Pts
10  Spurs    26 10  4 12  39 42 -3  34
13  M'brough 26  8  7 11  28 34 -6  31

A game! A game at last!

There will be a party atmosphere at The Riverside on Tuesday night, following Middlesbrough's Carling Cup win last week against Bolton. Spurs will hope to be the party poopers, but they face a difficult task, I fear. "Boro" have already been in action since their win, but were deflated by defeat at Birmingham. (Incidentally, Birmingham have taken full advantage of playing "catch-up" as they beat the losing Carling Cup finalists, Bolton on Saturday)

Most of the home fans will have travelled to Cardiff to see their club's historic first Trophy win, but Middlesborugh have not played a home league match since February 7th, adding to their keenness to play to their full potential against Spurs.

Spurs, of course have enjoyed a two and a half week break, and amazingly, have not lost their 10th place in the table, which they will only surrender if beaten by 2 goals on Tuesday.

Like Spurs, Middlesbrough have hardly touched the top half of the league all season, and in fact spent many weeks in the relegation zone, before their well-earnt draw at White Hart Lane in October. Something very unusual occurred that day - Spurs drew 0-0! Spurs fans will not need reminding of the night we lost to "Boro" in a penalty shoot-out in December.Nor will they want to remember last year's disgraceful 5-1 defeat in the corresponding fixture in May.

So, here we have two inconsistent sides facing each other, with plenty of talent available to choose from. "Boro" recently enjoyed the sublimity of beating Manchester United at Old Trafford (although they do seem to make a habit of that!), to add to that Cup win.

Spurs must have virtually a full squad to pick from. Redknapp did not play for the reserves on Wednesday night, and may be in the reckoning for a recall. Ziege may be fit enough to face the barrage of abuse he would get from one of his former sets of fans, and Darren Anderton will be seeking a recall to midfield. David Pleat may have a difficult task in picking the "best 11" for this match, but surely Keane and Defoe will continue their fruitful striker partnership, leaving Kanoute to warm the bench once more. Maybe, just maybe, to accommodate Ziege, Ledley King may drop back into a back three defensive line-up. We'll just have to wait and see.

Just for a change, I'll state the team I think might play:- Keller; Doherty, King, Gardner; Carr, Davies, Redknapp, Anderton, Ziege; Keane, Defoe Subs:- Burch; Taricco, Richards; Brown; Kanoute. There, that should start a debate on the message board!

I'll be travelling to the game, and the exclusive match report will be delayed till Wednesday, but I hope it will be worth your wait! Goals will be on the menu, surely, and I'll go for a 2-2 draw.

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