Tottenham Hotspur XI for Stoke in Carabao Cup Quarterfinals
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Bench
After the excitement of a nine-man bench for the Premier League, we really thought José Mourinho blew the bench for Spurs on Sunday not having cover in the attacking side of midfield. Unfortunately, injuries and availability may leave this bench a bit imbalanced as well, but you can only do what you can do.
Hugo Lloris is the back-up keeper and will only play if Hart is injured. Serge Aurier is on the bench, but available for the team after the weekend he will not be completely left out. Eric Dier joins Aurier in reserve for the defense. Ideally neither player has to even take off their warm-ups, but those three should provide all the defensive support Spurs need.
While it would be great to see Erik Lamela as one of the available players on Wednesday, logic would say Moussa Sissoko is the more likely player to be available. Sissoko is the only pure midfielder on the bench, although Dier can move up to midfield in a pinch. The last three players are so Tottenham have some shots in reserve. Gareth Bale, Harry Kane, and Heung-Min Son should round out the bench. While Bale probably should play, Kane and Son, like Lloris are hopefully emergency use only.
So that is our XI plus the bench, who do you have?