Spurs make their return to the re-branded EFL Cup on Wednesday with an opening third round tie against League One Gillingham. The Gills caused a second round shock knocking out Watford, so Spurs should by no means underestimate the lower-league opposition.
Pochettino is likely to make use of this game to make plenty of changes and use the full depth of his squad. Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele will miss out with knocks while Harry Kane’s ankle injury will keep him on the sidelines. Danny Rose will miss out again. Here is our Spurs predicted line-up to face Gillingham.
GK: Michel Vorm
Lloris has resumed is position at first choice goalkeeper following his spell out as a result of a knock picked up at Everton, but Vorm provided first class backup and I expect him to start here.
RB: Kieran Trippier
Kyle Walker has played three games in the space of nine days and it is more than likely that Trippier will step forward to play here. The former Burnley full-back has always played well when called upon, and is likely to do the same here.
CB: Toby Alderweireld
Toby has been our most consistent performer, and will probably play again here, it all depends if Pochettino feels Cameron Carter-Vickers is ready to play or not, but for me, the Belgian will start here.
CB: Kevin Wimmer
The Austrian is likely to be given his chance along the back line on Wednesday night in what would be his first competitive start of the season since signing a new contract with the club.
LB: Ben Davies
With Danny Rose still expected not to feature with injury, Davies could well feature here after Jan Vertonghen took his place on Sunday afternoon.
CDM: Victor Wanyama
With Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele both hobbling off injured in the win over Sunderland on Sunday, Victor Wanyama could be guaranteed a starting place with the defensive midfield duo both set to be out of action for this EFL Cup fixture.
CDM: Tom Carroll
With Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb both leaving the club, either temporarily or permanently over the summer transfer window, Tom Carroll has signed a new deal and has moved up the squad pecking order as a result, and he should start here.
RAM: Erik Lamela
The Argentine would have been disappointed to be left out of the starting line-up to face Sunderland at the weekend, and will be keen to make an impression on Pochettino to rival Moussa Sissoko with starting spots up for grabs over the next few weeks.
CAM: Christian Eriksen
Like Lamela, Eriksen was left out of the starting eleven on Sunday, with an in-form Son Heung-min preventing him from occupying the left flank. It looks unlikely that the Dane will beat the Korean to a starting spot in the next couple of weeks, but he could challenge Dele Alli in the number ten role. Either way, a good performance here will do him no harm at all.
LAM: Josh Onomah
Pochettino is likely to see the game against Gillingham as I have mentioned as an excellent chance for rotation, and this could see Josh Onomah make his first start of the season. The youngster has featured at various times for Spurs, and it will be interesting to see if he has made any progress over the summer.
ST: Vincent Janssen
Harry Kane was stretchered off on Sunday, so Janssen is more than likely to be the man to lead the line for Spurs over the next couple of months. I expect him to make his second start of the season and it would be good to see him bag his first goal in a Spurs shirt.
