After winning three on the bounce in all competitions by no more than two goals, Spurs never really have looked to seal victory, keeping fans on the edge of their seats right until the final whistle. It is likely that this will be the case again as many make their way to White Hart Lane on Sunday when we face a resilient Stoke side. Here is the team news and the predicted starting eleven.
Team News:
Nabil Bentaleb is still out for us, and as we all know, Kyle Walker is a long-term injury concern. Aaron Lennon could make his return after being left in London as most of the squad traveled to Greece to face Asteras Tripolis.
Predicted Lineup: (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris:
Without doubt Lloris is our best keeper and should start again on Sunday. Michel Vorm did nothing specifically special to push Lloris off the Premier League perch after Vorm stepped in for the Frenchman as he served his suspension.
Defence: Kyle Naughton, Younes Kaboul, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose:
It is very clear that Tottenham need to tighten up defensively , and hopefully they can do this with a familiar defence unit of four. Kaboul couldn’t handle the height of Benteke last Premier League match against Aston Villa and it will be interesting to see how he does against Crouch. As I said, Fazio should start against the tall players, but as we saw against Asteras, he hasn’t settled in at Spurs yet and was sent off in the closing stages. Again, it will be good to have a natural full-back in the team again as the right-back spot looks a bit too much for Eric Dier. This will be solved when Yedlin comes in and Walker returns from injury.
Midfield (Holding): Ryan Mason, Etienne Capoue:
Mason has been our brightest and most consistent star since his introduction into the first-team. Although Capoue is not in the best of form, he and Mason have a great understanding, Capoue sitting back and protecting the defensive unit, whilst Mason pushes forward and helps the attack when needed.
Midfield (Attacking): Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Nacer Chadli
After Pochettino showing some variation in his selection of the attacking midfield three, I expect the Argentine to go back to his familar attacking three of Eriksen, Lamela and Chadli. It is also likely that they will stick to their best positions as they all look to find top form, apart from Nacer, who has five Premier League goals this season. It would be nice to see the three of them switching positions, as this can confuse defences as we saw in pre-season.
Striker: Harry Kane:
It is very clear to all who Mauricio Pochettino SHOULD start, but who he starts is a different matter. Emmanuel Adebayor was left in London for Thursday’s game so it could well be him that leads the line on Sunday, although Harry Kane picked up another goal on Thursday against Asteras Tripolis. There will be an outburst for sure if young Harry doesn’t start.
