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Five Things to Watch for in Tottenham v Inter

By Ryan Wrenn

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 22: Harry Kane (R) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his teams third goal with Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at White Hart Lane on November 22, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 22: Harry Kane (R) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his teams third goal with Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at White Hart Lane on November 22, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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ENFIELD, ENGLAND – JUNE 21: Victor Wanyama poses with raw spaghetti at the Tottenham Hotspur FC training ground after signing on June 21, 2016 in Enfield, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
ENFIELD, ENGLAND – JUNE 21: Victor Wanyama poses with raw spaghetti at the Tottenham Hotspur FC training ground after signing on June 21, 2016 in Enfield, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images) /

No Spaghetti

Pochettino has a much deeper and more talented team at his disposal this time around. While we can expect a lot of the mainstays from last season’s starting XI to start again here, there very well could be some alterations right from the start.

The most likely of such changes will come in central midfield. Mousa Dembélé made the spot alongside Eric Dier his own by the end of last term, but his petulant eye gouging against Chelsea’s Diego Costa earned him an extended ban that will keep him out of the side for the first month of the Premier League season.

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    • Stepping up into Dembélé’s role should be newcomer Victor Wanyama. A delayed visa application will bar him from traveling to Norway, unfortunately.

    The former Southampton man is already a fixture in Tottenham’s pre-season matches as Dier and Dembélé have been absent, but will not be be making his final audition for a role in the starting XI come Saturday August, 13th.

    Instead, we might see Pochettino opt for Dembélé even if he can’t start against Everton. Or we might see some combination of Ryan Mason, Tom Carroll and Harry Winks fielded there, as we have in Tottenham’s prior pre-season friendlies.

    In truth, Wanyama is already the clear favorite to earn that honor. Indeed, he’s been playing in an aggressively forward role akin to how Dembélé played from midfield last term. He will be tasked with replicating Dembélé’s aggressive press as well as shuttling the ball forward to the more advanced attacking players.

    Next: An Altered Attack