Tottenham are back in action on Sunday with a Premier League visit to Brentford with Ange Postecoglou needing his players to put in a positive performance.
Spurs won 3-0 in midweek in the Europa League against Elfsborg to advance straight to the round of 16 but the injury-ravaged Lilywhites need to start fixing their dreadful Premier League run of results. A trip to Brentford has been a tough prospect for most teams this season and Tottenham will need to pull something special out of the bag if they are to come away in high spirits.
We asked our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold and head of football.london Lee Wilmot to name the starting XI they would both pick to face Thomas Frank’s side on Sunday afternoon. Here’s what they went with:
Alasdair Gold – Tottenham Hotspur correspondent
It was the youngsters who ended up making it a memorable night on Thursday with Dane Scarlett, Damola Ajayi and Mikey Moore all scoring their first goals for the club. The one with the best chance of starting on Sunday would be Moore, but the 17-year-old did admit that he was struggling with cramp during his goal celebrations and was happy to hear the final whistle.
Postecoglou gave Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Son Heung-min and the returning Micky van de Ven 45 minutes each which should at least bring some slightly fresher legs to the table for a change. Djed Spence is also expected to be available after injury.
The question for Postecoglou is whether Van de Ven starts with a fellow left-footer in Ben Davies or midfielder Archie Gray continues his stint as a centre-back with Radu Dragusin’s new knee injury to ensure better balance. Davies can then come on for Van de Ven who Postecoglou said will not last the full match.
The Welshman could also play at left-back as there could be a temptation to hand Pedro Porro a rest with Spence replacing him.
Pape Matar Sarr has been carrying an injury and limped off the pitch at half-time despite playing the full game and he could be handed a rest this time.
Gold’s team: Kinsky; Porro, Gray, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Bissouma, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son.
Lee Wilmot – Head of football.london
I would like to say things look slightly better on the injury front with Micky van de Ven’s return, but it’s one in and one out. Radu Dragusin is now not available this weekend, meaning Van de Ven could be called upon to play the full 90 minutes.
Antonin Kinsky starts in goal for me with Pedro Porro, Archie Gray and Djed Spence making up the rest of the backline. Ben Davies is in reserve in case Van de Ven can’t do the full 90.
Ahead of them I’d like to see Yves Bissouma alongside Rodrigo Bentancur – we can give Lucas Bergvall a bit of a rest here – with Dejan Kulusevski in the number ten role.
That leaves a space on the right for Mikey Moore to take after a good first half and fine goal against Elfsborg on Thursday. He should be on cloud nine. Son Heung-min starts on the other side, have played an excellent 45 minutes before getting a well-deserved rest and Richarlison up top.
Wilmot’s team: Kinsky; Porro, Gray, Van de Ven, Spence; Bissouma, Bentancur, Kulusevski; Moore, Richarlison, Son.
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