Tottenham Projected XI for Saturday Afternoon Versus Leeds

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WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 27: Tanguy NDombele of Tottenham Hotspur is challenged by Ruben Neves and Nelson Semedo of Wolverhampton Wanderers during the Premier League match. (Photo by Carl Recine – Pool/Getty Images) /

Tottenham Midfield vs Leeds

Tottenham Hotspur were likely to do some rotation in the midfield midweek as Dele Alli was seemingly close to getting the call against Fulham. However, with a club as aggressive and high paced as Leeds, Mourinho is looking for consistency in his midfield and he is not sure if Dele can provide that right now. With certainty over rotation, we get a familiar three in the midfield.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (DM)

Pierre Højbjerg is one player who probably benefited from a night off midweek. Højbjerg has not been as sharp the last month or so and it has clearly impacted the team as there are few options to give the Dane a real break. Højbjerg leads the team in minutes with more than a 100 more than Harry Kane as he closes in on 1900 for the season. It would be nice to see some of the range of passing we saw earlier in the season from Højbjerg, particularly some of his looks forward.

Moussa Sissoko (DM)

Moussa Sissoko is another player who likely benefited from a little rest. Sissoko is one of the few Spurs over 30 and happens to play one of the most active roles on the pitch in the defensive holding midfield next to Højbjerg. Like Højbjerg, Spurs need more offensively from Moussa. Sissoko does well to pick up the ball in some wonderful positions, it is what he does with it after getting it in those good spots that still needs work. If Sissoko can stay calm when the opportunity presents itself, expect the Frenchmen to get some chances to impact the game on the ball.

Tanguy Ndombele (CAM)

Whether it was really an expectation or more of a hope, we had Tanguy Ndombele as one of the two deep lying midfielders for Tottenham against Fulham with Dele Alli starting in the number 10 hole. With Dele’s opportunity likely gone – for now – Mourinho turns to Tanguy Ndombele who we know should provide at least a strong half of football. The real issue in his second season is one of consistency with Tanguy. Ndombele can look like the best player on the pitch by a mile for a few minutes and then disappear for long stretches. Tottenham really need consistently high performance from Tanguy for however long he is on the pitch.