Tottenham: Skipp suspension could pose Spurs a problem

Tottenham Hotspur will already be short in defence heading into their match against Leeds, however, Spurs will also be short in the midfield, which may be a problem. 

When Tottenham Hotspur host Leeds United Sunday afternoon Spurs may or may not be without the services of injured midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. However, Tottenham will not have the suspended Oliver Skipp, which could cause a problem for Antonio Conte and Spurs.

Oliver Skipp has not been the best player on the team by a longshot this season. Looking at whoscored.com rankings for Tottenham, Skipp is not even in the top XI but the young midfielder has been critical to what success Spurs have had this season. WIth Skipp out due to the accumulation of yellow cards, it could cause a real headache with Conte and his staff.

Tottenham has struggled without Skipp

Oliver Skipp has played in all 11 Premier League games for Tottenham Hotspur, starting 9 of the 11 matches. The two matches Skipp did not start were two of the worst losses of the season for the club, in the 0-3 loss to Chelsea and 3-1 loss to Arsenal.

Before those two matches, Skipp had played all 360 minutes of Spurs season, which did include the 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace. Against both Chelsea and Arsenal, then coach Nuno Espirito Santo chooses to go with a midfield three of Dele Alli, Hojbjerg, and Tanguy Ndombele, and Spurs were overrun in both matches.

This is not to say that Skipp would have changed and he didn’t in the 0-3 loss to Manchester United which he started. Rather, the larger point is that Tottenham is paper-thin in the deep midfield and missing Skipp, and possibly Hojbjerg who missed Denmark duty with a knee injury, maybe a real problem or maybe not with Conte in charge.

Tottenham has a couple of options for the deep midfield although most of them are traditionally played and more successful in a more advanced role. However, in Conte’s system, players that like to get forward but are ready, willing, and able to get back defensively can thrive. The good news for Tottenham is that the midfield is likely to be bolstered by a holding pair and two wingbacks in Conte’s system.

In a midfield three, each player more or less has a third of the pitch to cover box-to-box. In this midfield four set-ups, the area to cover is smaller and the players are not asked to cover as much ground – although the intensity of coverage is expected to be higher. This pair plays relatively flat to one another and looks to play out and up to the wingbacks or through the lines to the dropping attacking line.

With Skipp out and Hojbjerg possibly out, expect one or more of these players to play.

Tanguy Ndombele

Ndombele is one player who could excel in the deep role of Conte’s midfield. Ndombele has a range of passing unlike any other player on the team. That ability to thread longballs as well as hit little dinks could be very effective.

Ndombele did play well in stretches in the deep midfield under Jose Mourinho and that was a role asking him to do more, albeit at a different pace than will be asked of him under Conte. Tanguy is good at pressing in tight spaces and likewise beating the press if Tanguy does what he is capable of, Skipp’s yellow cards will not be as big of a deal moving forward as he could be playing fewer minutes.

Dele Alli

Dele Alli has not only played 17 minutes since being pulled at half-time of the Arsenal defeat for Skipp. However, that was all under Nuno and now Conte is in charge. There was little doubt at the start of the season that Dele was likely in the best shape of his life and his effort and intensity were something to match.

That effort and intensity waned and his lack of production, as well as lack of a real position, left him out of the set-up. Historically, Dele has been most effective in making late runs into the box or setting players up near the goal, not the deep midfield. It seems unlikely that Dele gets the call over Ndombele or Harry Winks, but it is possible.

Harry Winks

Harry Winks is probably the most like-for-like option to replace Skipp that Tottenham has in the senior team. Typically as tidy a passer as they come, Winks is the only Spurs player with a better completion percentage than Skipp has on the season at 91.3 to 90.2, according to whoscored.com.

Winks, like Skipp, is more naturally a defensive or holding midfielder and is usually where he needs to be to break up play. It is breaking up play that has gotten Skipp in this position as he has only 12 fouls on the season, according to Premier League statistics, yet has five yellow cards speaking to the mostly situational fouling Skipp has done for the team.

Giovani Lo Celso

The fourth option for consideration would be the Argentine midfielder Giovani Lo Celso. Like Ndombele and Dele, Lo Celso is also a player who is more often used in a more advanced position than what Skipp typically plays.

Some may even cringe at the idea of a Winks/Lo Celso pairing as they were the choice in two Europa Conference League losses, against Vitesse and Pacos de Ferreira.

That said, Lo Celso could be a wild card in a deeper role. Thus far he has not quite found his spot in Spurs set-up but clearly has a lot of ability. Maybe a deeper position with a different view of the action could be the key to unlocking Lo Celso’s talents with Spurs.

Who will Conte choose for Spurs?

Based on his substitution patterns thus far, Tanguy Ndombele is going to get the first opportunity as a substitute in both matches under Conte. Ndombele did play further up the pitch coming on for Heung-Min Son against Everton, however, and it was Winks who came on for Skipp. If both Skippy and Hojbjerg are out, then we probably see both.