Tottenham Hotspur projected XI for Aston Villa Premier League clash

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Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo jokes wth Heung-Min Son during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux on September 22, 2021 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 22: Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo jokes with Heung-Min Son during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux on September 22, 2021, in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images) /

Tottenham Hotspur is trying to build off the big victory against Mura in the Conference League and get back to winning in the Premier League. After struggling to find the right balance over the last few weeks, there are a few things from midweek Nuno Espirito Santo and Tottenham can build on as The Claret and Blue Army come to town. Here is our projected XI for the big clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Step 1 for Spurs Sunday, fixing the formation

Tottenham Hotspur looked good in a 4-3-3 early in preseason but the squad does not match that formation well. Having tried almost every conceivable combination across the three in the midfield, we saw against Mura a return to the 4-2-3-1 Spurs has played for some time under multiple coaches.

Having two at the midfield base allows for a bit more flexibility and more protection for the defense. Given Spurs have shipped nine goals in the last three league matches, having more protection for the defense is a good thing.

Extra protection for the defense is especially important given Villa is one of the few teams left that consistently start with a front two. How Tottenham can isolate and control Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings is going to go a long way toward determining the outcome, so having a sound defensive base is a good idea.

Having scored as many in their last three matches – four – as Spurs have all season, slowing down the Villa attack is priority number one. Here is the defense that will help make that happen.