Tottenham will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. Mauricio Pochettino feels that certain refereeing decisions went against his side, but the second Palace goal was easily avoidable. They face a Burnley side at White Hart Lane that Spurs have already faced twice this season, winning one and drawing the other. A home tie against Leicester awaits the winner. Here is the team news and predicted line-up.
Team News:
Ryan Mason and Erik Lamela are doubts to make the starting line-ups, but they will both face late fitness tests. Nabil Bentaleb is with the Algeria squad.
Predicted Line-Up: (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Michel Vorm:
Tottenham could make a number of changes to the side that faced Crystal Palace on Saturday, and Hugo Lloris could be one of the first to make way. Vorm has been solid, and when he has been called upon, he has been solid.
Defence: Kyle Naughton, Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier, Ben Davies:
As I said before, Mauricio Pochettino could make a considerable amount of changes to the team. Since his dream start to the season, Eric Dier has not been given much of a run-out in hiss usual position at centre-back, and it would be good to see him back where he is comfortable. Ben Daviies has been dropped from the Premier League side, so we should see him make an appearance here.
Midfield (Holding): Etienne Capoue, Benjamin Stambouli:
Assuming that Ryan Mason is still out through injury, it would be good to see these two play together in the middle of the park. Capoue hasn’t been given a start under the Argentine for a long time now, and the good form of Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb hasn’t helped him at all in his bid to force his way back into the side.
Midfield (Attacking): Aaron Lennon, Paulinho, Nacer Chadli:
This replay is a great opportunity to play some players that have been short of first team action, and as we are in January, this is a perfect time for Mauricio Pochettino to assess who deserves to stay at Tottenham Hotspur until the summer at least. Two of these players have been linked with moves away, and this match could ultimately decide their futures at Spurs. Nacer Chadli has been in fantastic form in recent weeks, and he scored against Burnley at Turf Moor just a couple of weeks back.
Striker: Emmanuel Adebayor:
I have not been too happy with the behaviour of this striker over the course of this season, but it has not been since November that Adebayor has been given a chance under Pochettino. He has also had time off due to family issues. This match could decide his future at Spurs, but wages could be a problem is Spurs choose to sell up.
