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Preview: Spurs entertain Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao

Preview: Spurs entertain Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao

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If Spurs are serious about building on their Europa League win in May, their League Cup match against Doncaster Rovers is the sort of match they need to win comfortably.  

By Ian King

 Spurs have been cutting things fine, while Doncaster have had a blip

Spurs have been cutting things a little fine of late, scrambling back from two down to salvage a point with a 2-2 draw against Brighton on Saturday and dependent on an own goal to get past Villarreal in the Champions League the previous Tuesday, though they do still remain an improvement on last season’s team.

After winning the League Two title last season, Doncaster had a very strong start to their League One season, only losing one of their first seven matches and beating Middlesbrough 4-0 away in the First Round of this competition. But they’ve had a blip of late, losing their last two, including a 2-1 home defeat to Wimbledon on Saturday.

It’s been almost 90 years since Doncaster last beat Spurs

When these two clubs met each other for the first time, on the 21st December 1935 in the old Second Division, Doncaster won 2-1 at Belle Vue. They’ve met eight times since. The teams drew in 1937 and 1948, but Spurs have won the other six. They’ve only met twice in the last half-century. In December 1975, they clashed in the quarter-finals of this competition and Spurs won 7-2. The last time they met was also in the League Cup, in August 2009, when Spurs won 5-1 at The Keepmoat Stadium.

Archie Gray has a chance to prove a point to Thomas Frank

Spurs will be expected to shuffle their pack for a fixture such as this, and someone like Archie Gray might well be a beneficiary of such rotation. He made 46 appearances in all competitions for Spurs last season, but he’s only appeared twice in the league so far this time sound and it seems clear that Thomas Frank prefers him as a squad player, so this is an opportunity for him to go out and prove a point. 

With six goals in 11 matches from midfield so far this season, Owen Bailey is Doncaster’s top goalscorer. He’s already scored as many league goals this season – five – as he did throughout the whole of 2024-25, when he was an ever-present in their title-winning team. His statistics for this season are highly impressive, with an average rating of 7.44. 

Doncaster’s best rated players in League One this season

Their best-known player is the now 39-year-old Billy Sharp, whose senior career started 21 years ago and who made 377 appearances for Sheffield United over three spells between 2004 and 2023. For a little context, Sharp made his League debut two years before Archie Gray was born!

Loanee set to miss out for Doncaster while Spurs set to shuffle their pack

Yves Bissouma, Kota Takai, Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Drăgușin and James Maddison are all out long-term and Dominic Solanke didn’t make the bench for Saturday’s draw at Brighton, though Ben Davies and Randal Kolo Muani, who both missed that match, could return. Spurs have loaned a lot of their talented youngsters out this summer, but this should still be a very different team to the one that started at The Amex. 

One of those sent out on loan was Damola Ajayi, who went to Doncaster and is therefore ineligible for this game. But since Ajayi was only on the bench for the Wimbledon game, it shouldn’t make much difference to their plans. In a more serious disruption, midfielder Harry Clifton sustained a hamstring tear in their recent defeat against Wigan Athletic, and will be unlikely to return before the end of next month.

Doncaster could cause a scare, but Spurs should have enough to get through

Spurs have shown signs of a wobble in both of their recent Premier League performances and their opening match of their Champions League mega-group campaign. We all know that there should be a vast gulf between these two teams and that Spurs should win this one comfortably, but Doncaster are a decent team and, despite their recent blip in the league, they’re capable of making life uncomfortable for the Premier League club, so let’s go for a 3-1 home win and little bit more of a scare for the home fans than they may consider necessary.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Carabao Cup with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Preview: Spurs entertain Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao

If Spurs are serious about building on their Europa League win in May, their League Cup match against Doncaster Rovers is the sort of match they need to win comfortably.  

By Ian King

 Spurs have been cutting things fine, while Doncaster have had a blip

Spurs have been cutting things a little fine of late, scrambling back from two down to salvage a point with a 2-2 draw against Brighton on Saturday and dependent on an own goal to get past Villarreal in the Champions League the previous Tuesday, though they do still remain an improvement on last season’s team.

After winning the League Two title last season, Doncaster had a very strong start to their League One season, only losing one of their first seven matches and beating Middlesbrough 4-0 away in the First Round of this competition. But they’ve had a blip of late, losing their last two, including a 2-1 home defeat to Wimbledon on Saturday.

It’s been almost 90 years since Doncaster last beat Spurs

When these two clubs met each other for the first time, on the 21st December 1935 in the old Second Division, Doncaster won 2-1 at Belle Vue. They’ve met eight times since. The teams drew in 1937 and 1948, but Spurs have won the other six. They’ve only met twice in the last half-century. In December 1975, they clashed in the quarter-finals of this competition and Spurs won 7-2. The last time they met was also in the League Cup, in August 2009, when Spurs won 5-1 at The Keepmoat Stadium.

Archie Gray has a chance to prove a point to Thomas Frank

Spurs will be expected to shuffle their pack for a fixture such as this, and someone like Archie Gray might well be a beneficiary of such rotation. He made 46 appearances in all competitions for Spurs last season, but he’s only appeared twice in the league so far this time sound and it seems clear that Thomas Frank prefers him as a squad player, so this is an opportunity for him to go out and prove a point. 

With six goals in 11 matches from midfield so far this season, Owen Bailey is Doncaster’s top goalscorer. He’s already scored as many league goals this season – five – as he did throughout the whole of 2024-25, when he was an ever-present in their title-winning team. His statistics for this season are highly impressive, with an average rating of 7.44. 

Doncaster’s best rated players in League One this season

Their best-known player is the now 39-year-old Billy Sharp, whose senior career started 21 years ago and who made 377 appearances for Sheffield United over three spells between 2004 and 2023. For a little context, Sharp made his League debut two years before Archie Gray was born!

Loanee set to miss out for Doncaster while Spurs set to shuffle their pack

Yves Bissouma, Kota Takai, Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Drăgușin and James Maddison are all out long-term and Dominic Solanke didn’t make the bench for Saturday’s draw at Brighton, though Ben Davies and Randal Kolo Muani, who both missed that match, could return. Spurs have loaned a lot of their talented youngsters out this summer, but this should still be a very different team to the one that started at The Amex. 

One of those sent out on loan was Damola Ajayi, who went to Doncaster and is therefore ineligible for this game. But since Ajayi was only on the bench for the Wimbledon game, it shouldn’t make much difference to their plans. In a more serious disruption, midfielder Harry Clifton sustained a hamstring tear in their recent defeat against Wigan Athletic, and will be unlikely to return before the end of next month.

Doncaster could cause a scare, but Spurs should have enough to get through

Spurs have shown signs of a wobble in both of their recent Premier League performances and their opening match of their Champions League mega-group campaign. We all know that there should be a vast gulf between these two teams and that Spurs should win this one comfortably, but Doncaster are a decent team and, despite their recent blip in the league, they’re capable of making life uncomfortable for the Premier League club, so let’s go for a 3-1 home win and little bit more of a scare for the home fans than they may consider necessary.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Carabao Cup with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.