Tottenham Hotspur have loved comparative success below Ange Postecoglou however might want to hit a wealthy vein of type heading into the enterprise finish of the Premier League marketing campaign – Champions League qualification is on the road.
Final outing, earlier than the worldwide break, the Lilywhites had been trounced 3-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage however have the right alternative to make amends on Saturday, welcoming relegation-threatened Luton City to north London.
Nonetheless fifth-placed and simply three factors behind Aston Villa within the high 4 (and with a recreation in hand), Spurs merely need to safe victory in opposition to Rob Edwards’ aspect and will probably be galvanised by the attainable return of Micky van de Ven, who missed out in opposition to Fulham on account of harm.
Furthermore, Richarlison might be in line for his first begin since choosing up an ankle harm in opposition to Wolverhampton Wanderers in February.
Postecoglou has choices to defeat a Hatters aspect that has not claimed a Premier League win in two months, and he may make three adjustments to set the tone for the ultimate stretch of the marketing campaign.
1
GK – Guglielmo Vicario
Guglielmo Vicario has began each Premier League fixture for Tottenham this season and has been rewarded for his tremendous efforts with an Italy debut final week.
Spurs’ high defenders get a lot credit score for the enhancements within the defensive third this season however the shot-stopper has been immense.
2
RB – Pedro Porro
Pedro Porro was responsible of some poor performances final season after becoming a member of from Sporting Lisbon in January 2023, however he is now blossoming right into a first-class participant and has been unimaginable throughout a variety of areas for Spurs.
Defensively stable, intelligently inventive and seamless in his actions, the Spaniard is without doubt one of the most necessary members of the group.
3
CB – Cristian Romero
Maybe a little bit overzealous at instances, however hey, Cristian Romero is a singular centre-half and he is oh-so spectacular in combining aggressiveness and technical high quality.
Counterbalanced in opposition to the athleticism and pace of Van de Ven, the 2022 World Cup winner will probably be secret is stifling any Luton assaults.
4
CB – Micky van de Ven
There are questions surrounding Van de Ven’s return and whether or not Postecoglou will play the prudent recreation and preserve him away from the beginning XI forward of Tuesday’s conflict in opposition to West Ham United, however he is been coaching and will properly begin.
Van de Ven bagged his solely Tottenham purpose in opposition to Luton and has been ridiculously necessary for the membership – he is misplaced simply two instances throughout 18 Premier League appearances, along with his teammates falling to defeat throughout half of the ten fixtures he has missed.
5
LB – Future Udogie
Who else? Ben Davies loved a tremendous worldwide break with Wales and picked up a 9/10 match ranking throughout his nation’s penalty defeat in opposition to Poland, however Future Udogie, aged 21, has been sensible since arriving in England final summer season.
As per FBref, the £75k-per-week speedster ranks among the many high 10% of full-backs throughout Europe’s high 5 leagues over the previous 12 months for move completion, the highest 14% for progressive passes, the highest 8% for progressive carries, the highest 11% for profitable take-ons, the highest 18% for tackles and the highest 8% for interceptions. Fairly the entire talent set.
6
CM – Yves Bissouma
After a horrible 2022/23 marketing campaign, Yves Bissouma has been one of many Premier League’s most fearsome defensive midfielders this season, along with his ball-winning experience and crisp distribution marrying into Postecoglou’s strong type of play.
His season has been punctuated with suspensions and dips in type, however he’ll now want to tug all of it collectively as the ultimate few months arrive.
7
CM – Rodrigo Bentancur
Rodrigo Bentancur endured a torrid injury-blighted 2023 however he has been a daily a part of the matchday squad since simply earlier than the New 12 months and will probably be hoping to be fielded from the outset after ranging from the bench throughout Tottenham’s previous two video games.
He is embracing a extra expansive type of play this season after being largely used as a deep-lying playmaker below Antonio Conte and provides a pleasant steadiness alongside the tough-tackling Bissouma.
8
RW – Dejan Kulusevski
Dejan Kulusevski is just not a 20-goal-a-season winger, neither is he a inventive phenomenon on the extent of, say, Kevin De Bruyne, however the Sweden worldwide is a implausible participant and is without doubt one of the most necessary members of Postecoglou’s group, energetic, enterprising and efficient.
As per Sofascore, he has scored six targets and supplied three assists throughout 26 Premier League fixtures this season, creating ten large possibilities, finishing 82% of his passes and averaging 2.0 key passes, 1.8 tackles, 4.2 ball recoveries, 1.7 dribbles and 4.3 profitable duels per recreation.
9
AM – James Maddison
Nonetheless not fairly again to his gorgeous pre-injury ranges, James Maddison stays one of many Premier League’s elite playmakers and has been the conduit between midfield and assault, racking up seven assists and averaging 2.5 key passes per recreation.
It was he who claimed the match-winning help as his aspect slenderly received the reverse fixture again in October, and also you would not guess in opposition to him popping up with one other defining second tomorrow.
10
LW – Heung-min Son
He is perhaps nearing his thirty second birthday however Heung-min Son could be very a lot nonetheless a “world-class participant“, in line with Postecoglou.
Premier League: Most Large Probabilities Created |
|||
---|---|---|---|
# |
Participant |
Membership |
Large Probabilities Created |
1. |
Mohamed Salah |
Liverpool |
19 |
2. |
Heung-min Son |
Tottenham Hotspur |
17 |
3. |
Trent Alexander-Arnold |
Liverpool |
13 |
4. |
Bruno Fernandes |
Manchester United |
13 |
5. |
Bukayo Saka |
Arsenal |
13 |
5. |
Martin Odegaard |
Arsenal |
13 |
5. |
Kieran Trippier |
Newcastle United |
13 |
5. |
Dwight McNeil |
Everton |
13 |
Stats by way of Premier League |
A dynamic ahead, Son is hailed for his scoring prowess however he is additionally one of the inventive and fluid forwards round, so efficient as his aspect’s multi-functioning talisman.
The skipper will take Brennan Johnson’s place on the left wing, and whereas the Welshman has been famous for his “horrifying tempo and directness” by content material creator HLTCO, Son provides a lot extra.
11
CF – Richarlison
Richarlison’s Tottenham profession has ebbed and flowed, however his sensible run of goalscoring type earlier than his latest harm does difficulty an emphatic reminder of his qualities.
9 targets in ten Premier League matches is a outstanding purple patch that speaks of his innate predatory intuition. His physicality and adept aerial capability will probably be essential in opening up a dimension in opposition to a resilient Hatters defence.
Predicted Spurs XI in full vs Luton: (GK) Guglielmo Vicario; (RB) Pedro Porro, (CB) Cristian Romero, (CB) Micky van de Ven, (LB) Future Udogie; (CM) Yves Bissouma, (CM) Rodrigo Bentancur; (RW) Dejan Kulusevski, (AM) James Maddison, (LW) Heung-min Son; (CF) Richarlison