Tottenham Hotspur projected XI for north London derby
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Hotspur is slated to host Arsenal FC on Sunday in north London, assuming the match is not postponed, here are the XI Antonio Conte will start in the derby.
Spurs are suffering through several injuries to players in the first team and have at least one undisclosed Covid case. Both Eric Dier and Heung-min Son are out for certain on Sunday. Fortunately, both Steven Bergwijn and Cristian Romero are recovering for Tottenham but are likely not fit enough to go 90 minutes. However, Spurs should still be able to field a solid squad and we start our XI with our forwards.
Tottenham forwards
Given how things have progressed over the last several matches and in consideration of the available players, Conte and Spurs will only play with two forwards, in what should be a 3-5-2 formation.
Centre forward – Harry Kane
We should expect to see Harry Kane on the pitch Sunday working to do his magic. Kane has 11 career goals in 16 matches against Arsenal but has not scored in either of the last two games, both Tottenham losses. It looked like Kane possibly picked up a small knock at the end of the Chelsea game but it likely would take a major injury to keep Spurs talisman off the pitch against the club’s cross-town rivals. Expect to see Kane dropping deep and working hard to get into the box.
Second striker – Lucas Moura
Lucas Moura is more of a false nine or a winger than an out-and-out striker. That said, he should be able to find some space playing around and off of Harry Kane. Spurs need Lucas to make runs over the top of the defence and Kane is the most likely player to make those passes. Look for Moura to be active and running, hopefully, that results in some end product.