Tottenham Hotspur XI to Bounce Back Against Leicester City
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Starting Defense
Tottenham have most of the defense available, although Japhet Tanganga is back on the medical list. With a bit of rotation at left back on Wednesday, there is likely to be some more rotation on Sunday. Likewise, more rotation is likely to occur on the right, but the middle remains unchanged.
Sergio Reguilón – Left back
Sergio Reguilón came on later in the second half of the loss to Liverpool as Tottenham went searching for the game winner. While some may perceive bringing on Reguilón as a more defensive move, without more of his wingers available to him, José Mourinho did not have a ton of options out wide left in front of Ben Davies. Sunday Reguilón is back to his traditional back position and Davies is back to the bench.
Eric Dier – Left-sided Center-Half
Eric Dier was felled during the pivotal play during the game Wednesday against Liverpool. Jordan Henderson somehow decked Dier, which gave Firmino a clear run at the ball to head home the winner. I have seen the highlight a number of times and just do not know what to make of it. Having not really heard from Dier or seen much protest, it seems Dier and the team have just moved on. What Eric needs Sunday is to get his passing boots back on and be more efficient with the ball while maintaining his defensive focus.
Toby Alderweireld – Right-sided Center-Half
While one might want to argue to bring in Joe Rodon amid the need for some rotation here. However, with the Carabao Cup on Wednesday of next week, that seems a more likely opportunity for Rodon. Instead, we continue to see Toby Alderweireld who the team needs to find more time on the ball for. The number of diagonal balls seems to be down and much of that is due to a lack of time on the ball. Spurs freeing both he and Dier for quality long balls is important to the attack.
Matt Doherty – Right Back
Matt Dohety and Serge Aurier seem to be in a real platoon situation where they take turns game in and game out playing right back. Aurier was the choice against Liverpool midweek and was excellent. He was active chasing Saido Mane around the right side of the Tottenham formation and never made a big mistake. However, by games end it was clear Aurier was exhausted. Spurs brought in Doherty for this exact situation to face Jamie Vardy three days after Aurier took on Mane. Doherty is steady and plays smart positionally. Ideally Doherty pushes forward to keep Harvey Barnes more defensive and Christian Fuchs at fullback and not wing.