Tottenham Hotspur projected XI to face Wolves in the Premier League
By Aaron Coe
New Tottenham Hotspur Head Coach Nuno Espirito Santo takes his Spurs to face his old team at the Molineux, here is the projected XI that Santo will start versus the Wolves.
Just as new Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Bruno Lage has yet to convert his Wolves team to his preferred back four set-ups, Nuno Espirito Santo has not changed Tottenham Hotspur to a back three. As the Spurs again line up in Nuno’s 4-3-3 shape, the real question is not about the shape but about the top of the attack and whether or not Harry Kane will play.
Harry Kane in the Tottenham Team
We do know for certain at this point that Harry Kane made the trip to Wolverhampton and is available for selection. Having been with the first team much of the week, it seems the Tottenham talisman may make his season debut. And while the decision of whether or not to start Kane seems like one that depends primarily on Kane in this instance it does not.
Creating confidence is most important for Tottenham right now
Of course, Harry Kane could jump right back into the line-up and start and no one would bat an eye. However, the issue is that Nuno then has to take one of his front three off.
Lucas Moura has been fantastic all preseason and continued that form into the regular season. Heung-Min Son seems to be taking on the mantle of team leader and scored the winner last week against Manchester City. Then we have Steven Bergwijn.
Admittedly Bergwijn has been the ‘worst performing of the three forwards and becomes the natural choice to sit, while Son moves wide and Kane goes up top. However, Steven Bergwijn needs two things at this point in his Tottenham career, minutes and confidence.
For the young Dutchman, getting those minutes breeds confidence and the more confidently Bergwijn plays the more minutes he will get. After playing okay in the preseason and then having flashes but also a big miss against Manchester City, Bergwijn needs to play to build his confidence.
The reality is Harry Kane knows he is good and he is going to provide in minutes big or small. Thus while it is still early in the season and Kane is still getting up to speed – and might be needed midweek – the Spurs ace starts the match on the bench, while Santo rides the hot hand of a familiar front three.