£36m-rated star axed, Dier & Winks start in 5 changes: Predicted Spurs XI vs Everton – opinion
Winks #Winks
Tottenham Hotspur take a break from league action this evening when they head to top-flight rivals Everton for an FA Cup fifth-round clash at Goodison Park.
Jose Mourinho will need to consider rotation with the Europa League set to return next week, meaning fixtures are going to mount up quickly for the north Londoners.
Last time out, the Lilywhites saw off relegation-threatened West Brom with a 2-0 win, which ended a barren run of three straight defeats, whilst Spurs needed a late comeback to find a way past Championship strugglers Wycombe in this very competition.
So, what sort of side could we see in Merseyside tonight? Here’s the XI we’re predicting along with the latest team and injury news from the Spurs camp…
Mourinho is unlikely to have the services of Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon, and it’s claimed by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick that Serge Aurier is a “major doubt” for this encounter.
It means we could see Matt Doherty come in at right-back in one of three defensive changes – Eric Dier and Joe Rodon are also in line to come back into the lineup, taking the place of the £36m-rated Davinson Sanchez and Belgian international Toby Alderweireld – the latter could be rested with the volume of matches on the horizon.
Ben Davies and Hugo Lloris should keep their places from the win over the Baggies.
In midfield, £15m summer bargain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is another who should remain but we may see a return for Harry Winks to partner him as he started and scored against Wycombe.
It would allow Tanguy Ndombele to be deployed further forward in an advanced role, though it means Mourinho has made a big call over Dele Alli, who returned to training this week as he’ll have to settle for a place on the bench once again.
The Spurs boss handed rare starts to Erik Lamela (seventh of the season) and Lucas Moura (fifth in league) on Sunday but with the quick turnaround, we’re expecting Steven Bergwijn to come back in on the right for the fifth and final change.
Whilst both Heung-min Son and Harry Kane should both start given the importance of the competition, so the likes of Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale will have to wait for their opportunity, perhaps from the bench.
AND in other news, Mourinho must ruthlessly axe £85k-p/w Spurs dud tonight, Dier dubbed him a “nightmare”…
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