Tottenham Hotspur Projected XI for Ludogorets in Europa League
By Aaron Coe
Hotspur Forwards
We see changes from the off from the team that last faced Ludogorets as we get a heavy dose of midweek rotation. Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son both played extremely hard this past weekend against City and will be available for as needed duty only on Thursday. With that in mind, here is the offense.
Steven Bergwijn (LW)
Steven Bergwijn played an effective, if not flashy role in the victory over Manchester City on Saturday. Bergwijn did as much defensively helping to control and limit Kevin De Bruyne as he did offensively. While the stats on neither end popped, his effort and drive sure did. As such Bergwijn is going to be rewarded with a start in Europe and chance to flex his offensive muscles that were intentionally held back some against City. If you have been waiting for a Bergwijn breakout, this game might be it.
Carlos Vinicius (ST)
Speaking of breaking out, it would be great to see Carlos Vinicius break out. After Harry Kane had his 300th appearance and 200th goal in the last match against Ludogorets, Kane will likely have to wait for his next goal and appearance. Carlos Vinicius on the other hand has already been patiently waiting for his chance to break in with the squad. While he has made a couple appearances, the impact he can have is much more than we have seen. Hopefully Vinicius is settling and we see him start to break through on the pitch.
Gareth Bale (RW)
After a game and half for Wales Gareth Bale was unused substitute against Manchester City. There is little doubt had the score been reversed and Spurs were down instead of up, it would have been Gareth Bale and not Lucas Moura coming on for Bergwijn for the last 20 minutes. Instead, Tottenham were winning and wanted to keep the pressure up, which meant Moura got the nod. For Ludogorets it is Bale for at least a half, as Mourinho tries to have the Welsh wonder at full strength for Chelsea and the schedule ahead.
Tottenham Bench
Tottenham will again have a deep bench and it might be completely unfair in terms of numbers in comparison to Ludogorets if the rumors about the loss of players to Covid-19 is true. However, Tottenham does not make the rules, they just have to play by them, so Jose Mourinho has a deep, strong, and varied bench.
Of course Hugo Lloris is on the Bench with Joe Hart starting and he is joined with Japhet Tanganga, Eric Dier, and Dennis Cirkin for the defense. If you think that seems thin, it is because it is thin with Alderweireld out and Rodon ineligible. That is four, and there are just as many midfielders and attackers available as well. This is still a day or two too soon for Eric Lamela, but he will hopefully be fit for Chelsea.
Moussa Sissoko, Harvey White, Tanguy Ndombele, and Dele Alli all represent the midfield on the bench. With Lucas Moura, Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, and Jacke Clarke for extra offensive firepower. The hope would be players like Clarke, Cirkin, and White would get some playing time, but I think we have said that before and it has yet to happen. It is great to be on the bench for experience, but even better to be on the pitch gaining it, maybe this week.
So that is our team, do you think this is what Jose will do? How would you set up Spurs?