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Tottenham Hotspur Modified XI to Beat Sheffield United

By Aaron Coe

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 23: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur during the Caraboa Cup Quarter Final match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Bet365 Stadium on December 23, 2020 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 23: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur during the Caraboa Cup Quarter Final match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Bet365 Stadium on December 23, 2020 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham, Dele Alli
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 23: Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur during the Caraboa Cup Quarter Final match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur at Bet365 Stadium on December 23, 2020 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images) /

Tottenham Hotspur face a near must win match against Sheffield United in the Premier League Sunday, with the season on the brink, these are the XI Spurs start.

Over the last six weeks Tottenham Hotspur have struggled to play a complete 90 minutes of football. Spurs have really struggled to consistently score and maintain clean sheets. With nearly everyone – aside from Giovani Lo Celso – available for selection, Mourinho goes with the team most likely to produce a result on the field and with the fans.

Desperate Times Call for Dele

With Tottenham struggling to maintain control of the ball in the midfield over this rough stretch. The one person on the team that seemingly could help this would be Dele Alli. Dele is both a creator and scorer, being what some may term a playmaker.

While many consider Giovani Lo Celso the future of the club, at 24, the Argentine is the same age as Dele and has not produced nearly as much for the club, before or with Mourinho. Dele Alli on the other hand has produced under both the previous regime and under José Mourinho. Last season when Tottenham were struggling in December it was Dele Alli who came though.

Now as Spurs are again struggling, giving time to the playmaker may be the answer. Dele does tend to dwell on the ball at times, but at least that is because he is looking to make play with it. Often Pierre Højbjerg, Harry Winks, and Moussa Sissoko just try and pass to the first person they see. While they all can have moments, none have more than 50 goals and 50 assists to their name like Dele Alli. The lack of consistent wing play has gotten a lot of attention, but it has been the inability to control the middle of the park that has been consistently hurting Tottenham and that is something Dele can address.