Mauricio Pochettino backs Dele Alli against Manchester City as big occasions bring best out of Spurs star
The chance to prevent City from sealing the Premier League title will help produce the big performance that Dele Alli is capable of, according to his manager
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Dele Alli is a player who is at his best when he plays against the best, according to Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The England star, who turned 22 on Wednesday, gets to test that theory once again on Saturday when champions-elect Manchester City come to Wembley.
They will do so attempting to avoid a fourth successive defeat but few are predicting anything other than the crowning of Pep Guardiola's side at some point before the end of term.
Tottenham intend to make them wait however and Alli has 12 goals to his name so far this season, including doubles in victories over Real Madrid and Chelsea. He was also on target in this fixture last season, which Spurs won 2-0 to inflict a first defeat in English football upon Guardiola.
Pochettino is confident Alli will rise to the occasion once again having observed his performances both on the training ground and on the pitch.
"For him, he needs strong opposition to give his best," he said. "It is his character.
"When he believes it is easy he is not interested. In training sessions sometime, if you put him in without any opposition to do finishing you say 'come on Dele, you have the capacity to score'.
"But if you put opposition in he scores unbelievable goals. It is a special character, that is why we are talking a lot in the current season about Dele Alli. He has special energy and needs to feel the competition.
"You can always improve but you need to be born with this character, this mental strength. Then you need people to help you improve. You can improve a small percentage but it is not a thing that you can buy today from the market."
Spurs will also look to Harry Kane for goals as the striker bids to pip Liverpool's Mo Salah for the Golden Boot trophy. Salah has 29 top-flight goals to Kane's tally of 25, which was controversially boosted by the Premier League awarding him of one of Christian Eriksen's two goals at Stoke last week.
"Can I catch him? We will see," Kane said. "He has done great, he has had an amazing season and has gone ahead, so we will see.
"Because we are battling against Liverpool for the top four as well it's a bit of excitement. He [Salah] scores four, let's see what I can come back with!
"Whatever happens at the end of the season both of us will have had good seasons and we both enjoy it. It's just the competition and trying to win, that's what I enjoy."
City need two victories to clinch their third title in seven seasons, or Manchester United to drop points, while Tottenham haven't won anything since the League Cup in 2008.
Pochettino argued that the club would be "more than happy" with a third season in the Champions League, which will happen if they finish above Chelsea and Arsenal.
He said: "When we arrived the challenge for the club was to reduce the gap with the top four.
"We reduced the gap and we are competing.
"You need to assess if that is over-achievement or achievement. Perception is so difficult. The people that we know at the club are happy to be in the top four and more than happy, if we achieve it, to play in the Champions League for the third time in a row, there are many good things."
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