Creating two Tottenham Hotspur XIs under Antonio Conte

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MILAN, ITALY – MAY 23: Coach Antonio Conte of FC Internazionale during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale Milano and Udinese Calcio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on May 23, 2021, in Milan, Italy. Sporting stadiums around Italy remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images) /

Antonio Conte is not likely to field two completely different XIs the way Nuno Santo did. However, in looking at the Tottenham Hotspur squad, Spurs could field two decent XIs under Conte, this is what they may look like.

Tottenham to go to a back three under Conte

Despite primarily using a back-three at Wolverhampton, former Spurs manager Nuno Espirito Santo never really went down that path with Tottenham Hotspur. We should not expect Conte to deviate from his approach, rather we should expect the squad to step up to meet the demands of the new manager, including implementing a back three.

The reality of this Spurs squad is that they have a plethora of center-halves, even if none are naturally left-sided players, with Cristian Romero, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Joe Rodon, and Japhet Tanganga, Spurs have five players who are quite comfortable as a center-half. If you add in Ben Davies, who has played left-back in a back-three for Wales from time to time, the fact is, Spurs have the defensive depth to pull off Conte’s preferred approach.

If you add in that Spurs have several natural wing-backs on both sides as well, suddenly the idea of Conte changing the formation and approach makes great sense. So if Tottenham is going to go to a back three, and likely a 3-5-2 at that, what might Spurs look like in practice this week lining up against themselves?

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