Tottenham Hotspur return from international duty with a huge game against Manchester City with most but not all the squad available, who will Mourinho start?
Ideally players all return from international break healthy and ready to play. While there were no major injuries for Tottenham Hotspur national team participants, Matt Doherty tested positive for Coronavirus and is out. Beyond Doherty, Jose Mourinho should have a full compliment of players, including a fit Gareth Bale as Tottenham look to start a busy and difficult stretch with a win and three points over Manchester City.
Tottenham Defense and Goal
With Manchester City finally getting healthy – as Sergio Aguero is likely to return for the Sky Blues – Tottenham will need to be at the top of their game to hold a strong offensive that is looking to really get on track for the season. Spurs will not want to be the team that City breaks loose against.
Hugo Lloris (GK)
Hugo Lloris sat out France’s friendly over the break then played the full 90 minutes in both Nations League matches for Les Bleus. Lloris was sharp in the shutout of Portugal but did give up a couple goals in the win over Sweden. Overall, Lloris has looked sharp this season and should be ready for a big game to start back.
Sergio Reguilón (LB)
We will know a lot about how Tottenham plan on approaching this match by who is playing left back. If we see Ben Davies, that means Jose is looking at a more conservative approach to the match, as Davies does not offer quite as much going forward as the Spaniard. Our thought is that Jose wants to be on the front foot and make Per and company respond to Spurs.
Eric Dier (CB)
Eric Dier played 180 minutes in the Nations League this past week but is still the best option to fill the left-side of the center-half equation. Dier has been reliable most of the season for Spurs and is needed for his leadership on the pitch with the defense. If Dier can help to maintain his own and his teammates focus for the full 90 minutes, it will go a long way toward a victory.
Toby Alderweireld (CB)
Toby Alderweireld has been the starter in the Premier League with Eric Dier for the last month of the season and has started five of the eight games played by Spurs in the League. Ideally Tottenham can create enough space for Toby to unleash a few of his trademark cross-field longballs out to Sergio Reguilón running up the wing to create some attacking opportunities for Tottenham. Outside of that expect more of Toby’s no non-sense defending as Tottenham look to keep City in check.
Serge Aurier (RB)
We know that barring a couple consecutive negative Covid tests Matt Doherty is not going to be available for Tottenham on Saturday so in all likelihood we will see Serge Aurier here fresh off 180 minutes in African Cup of Nations qualifying for Cote’ d Ivoire. That would be the logical and obvious choice. There is the outside chance Jose brings Japhet Tanganga out of injury hibernation and starts him in the defense. However, the more probably approach would be to ease Tanganga in midweek in Europe, so Aurier is the smart play here given the circumstances.
Tottenham Midfielders
After Harry Kane, Pierre Højbjerg is the first name on the team sheet each week, the question comes with who will be around him, particularly in the other holding position. The dream of most Tottenham faithful at this point is that somehow the midfield includes both Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele. We at HotspurHQ hope that is the case sometime soon but do not believe this Saturday evening versus Manchester City is it.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (CM)
Pierre Højbjerg had an interesting break only catching up with his Danish teammates for the final match in the Nations League group versus Belgium. While Denmark lost and Belgium advanced, it was not through any fault of Højbjerg who was strong and sound as always. While a very different player, Højbjerg brings much of the same confidence to the team Mousa Dembele used to when on the pitch, such is the confidence Højbjerg exudes.
Moussa Sissoko (CM)
Moussa Sissoko played 180 minutes for France, just not in consecutive matches as he started and went 90 in the Friendly versus Finland and in the final Nations League match versus Sweden. Sissoko was not particularly sharp in the friendly but was solid all-around in the clincher versus the Swedes. Having Sissoko in the line-up gives Højbjerg more freedom to roam and impact the games in more ways so the Frenchman gets the start here.
Tanguy Ndombele (CAM)
Tanguy Ndombele was highly effective in October for Tottenham but was less so in his last couple outings. Ndombele seems to be orienting to playing week-in and week-out in the Premier League. After an opportunity to break and focus with Mourinho, we should expect Ndombele at his creative best on Saturday. Given the performances over the break down in Argentina from Lo Celso, Ndombele has to know he must keep performing to keep playing, expect a big performance Saturday from the Frenchman.
Hotspur Forwards
Gareth Bale went a full 90 during the break for Wales, while Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane featured for the Republic of Korea and England as well. With all three of his top attackers full fit, Jose Mourinho deploys his top line for the second time in league this season.
Son Heung-Min (LW)
Heung-Min Son has been outstanding this season, scoring goals at an amazing level of efficiency. Son has been one of the main targets over the top when Kane has dropped deep and has finished well when the opportunity has arisen. Son traditionally has given Manchester City fits, as they struggle with his pace and aggression. Assuming no positive tests pop up after the midweek scare, Son should start and play the majority of the game.
Harry Kane (ST)
Harry Kane has had a memorable few weeks as he had his 300th club appearance, his 200th club goal, his 150th Premier League goal, and his 50th Cap for England, all since just the start of November. With all those milestones behind him and a renewed confidence from playing under Jose Mourinho, expect the best from Kane on Saturday.
Gareth Bale (RW)
We thought Mourinho would wait until after the International break to start Gareth Bale in our last projected XI, but the Portuguese coach went with Bale. After starting twice more for Wales since then including a full 90 Bale seems to be finding his fitness. Bale has yet to show that trademark burst of speed, but he has already scored a goal for Spurs and helped drive the attack for Wales this past week. While he may not be the dominant player of six or seven years ago, expect a good outing from Bale.
Tottenham Bench
Part of every bench selects itself as we know here is a back-up keeper, so Joe Hart is among the seven extras. After that much is down to tactics and form. What we do not know is how well folks not on international break were doing at Tottenham Way. We know that most of the international players performed well, but how Dele Alli or Japhet Tanganga did working on a more personal level with the staff we do not know
All that said there are few surprises on the bench. After Hart, we need defensive depth so expect to see Joe Rodon and Ben Davies both on the bench – after both played solid for Wales over the break. Tottenham will also need midfield options so Harry Winks and Giovani Lo Celso both get the call. Finally, Spurs need some attacking options, so Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius are waiting in the wings.
All told a strong team and a well-equipped bench for a game that will take a full 90 minutes of excellence from Spurs to win. So, this is our team, who do you think starts?
Starters – 4-2-3-1
Lloris – Aurier – Alderweireld – Dier – Reguilón – Sissoko – Højbjerg – Ndombele – Son – Kane – Bale
Bench
Hart – Lo Celso – Winks – Vinicius – Davies – Rodon – Moura