Dier & £14.4m-rated “nightmare” start, 29 y/o ace axed: Predicted Spurs XI vs Zagreb – opinion
Dier #Dier
Tottenham Hotspur can advance into the quarter-finals of the Europa League by seeing off Dinamo Zagreb this evening.
Jose Mourinho’s side carry a two-goal lead to the Croatian capital thanks to a first-leg brace from Harry Kane, but what sort of side could we see the Portuguese tactician select?
The thought of rotation would’ve crossed his mind, but a 2-0 lead can often be a funny scoreline in football, so he may well want to keep many of his regular starters in the mix.
So, here’s the Spurs XI we’re predicting tonight, as well as the latest team and injury news…
Spurs were beaten by arch-rivals Arsenal in the north London derby on Sunday, and we could well see as many as eight changes from he side that were defeated 2-1 at the Emirates.
Club captain and first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is likely to keep his place between the sticks, whilst the only other defender to remain from the weekend is Toby Alderweireld.
That means Sergio Reguilon is replaced by Ben Davies at left-back, with Eric Dier partnering the Belgian colossus in the middle over Davinson Sanchez, and Serge Aurier is preferred to Matt Doherty on the right after the 29-year-old’s nightmare display.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will serve a one-game suspension after picking up a third yellow card in the competition last time out, so we’re expecting Moussa Sissoko to partner Harry Winks as Tanguy Ndombele is another who earns a rest.
In attack, we could see Dele Alli earn a rare start in the no.10 role, even despite the return of Giovani Lo Celso from injury. The Argentine may not be risked from the off but fellow countryman Erik Lamela could keep his place as he’s suspended for their clash with Villa at the weekend.
The £14.4m-rated dynamo, dubbed a “nightmare” by Dier, scored a rabona against the Gunners before being sent off in the second half.
Lucas Moura is axed to allow the return of Alli.
Mourinho has ruled out Heung-min Son from featuring tonight, so Steven Bergwijn is surely in line for a return. He’ll have to impress, having started just one match since the defeat to Everton in the FA Cup.
Whilst the Spurs boss also confirmed that Kane would be involved, presumably to ensure this tie is dead and buried from early doors.
AND in other news, Mourinho must unleash “special” £26m-rated star tonight, could be his game-changer…
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