Tottenham travel to the south coast for a long-awaited tilt against Brighton, where Antonio Conte’s side need to rebound quickly after Saturday’s loss to United.
As if you didn’t already know, Tottenham cannot afford another slip up. Even if they don’t suffer another devastating setback, Spurs have most likely already utilized every one of their nine lives.
But it’s back to business on Wednesday with the match that was originally postponed due to Tottenham’s Covid-19 outbreak set to finally go ahead. Here’s Tottenham’s projected lineup in the must-win encounter.
Injured Personnel
Ryan Sessegnon is still out after going down with an injury in the first half of Spurs’ 5-0 win over Everton, while Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp are the long-term absentees unavailable for Wednesday’s tilt.
Skipp’s absence has certainly damaged Tottenham’s top four hopes and there has been a palpable lack of information on when his return is expected. By the time he returns to the pitch, Tottenham’s fate might already be sealed.
Defence
Conte has no option in defence but to start with the same three who marshalled the backline at Old Trafford. Eric Dier, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies are unequivocally the gaffer’s go-to defensive trio. All three endured subpar outings against United and will have to rebound quickly if Tottenham want to at least stay within sight of Arsenal and the Red Devils.
Hugo Lloris’ start in goal is also assured.
Midfield
With Sessegnon unavailable, Sergio Reguilon is set to retain his spot on the left side of midfield. The wingback’s defensive positioning was questionable on numerous occasions against United, with the Spaniard exposed on Ronaldo’s second goal.
Reguilon has a lot to offer going forward but still isn’t strong enough defensively to warrant an uncontested first-choice moniker. Which is why Sessegnon started to take prominence before his latest injury setback. Reguilon will be thankful he doesn’t have to face Ronaldo again for the foreseeable future.
Matt Doherty might be rested in favour of Emerson Royal, who recently lost his spot in the starting side to the Irishman. The lack of days between matches is a justifiable reason to give the Brazilian another shot in the side, though Conte has probably lost too much trust in Royal. If that’s the case, which it probably is, Doherty will start again.
Harry Winks might come back into the first team. Neither central midfielder enjoyed a fruitful match at Old Trafford, so there’s a strong case for seeing Winks. Fresh legs and some added enthusiasm could help Tottenham from the off at Brighton. The likelihood of Winks’ coming back into the team increases substantially with a colossal London derby against West Ham beckoning on Sunday.
Take your pick on who is dropped to make room for the Englishman.
Forwards and Formation
There won’t be any changes up front for Spurs, who have become heavily reliant in recent weeks on the trio of Sonny, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski. Lucas Moura has faded into the background since Kulu’s arrival and hasn’t done nearly enough in recent cameo appearances to warrant a start.
The preferred trio must show their quality against Brighton on Wednesday for Spurs to have any chance of taking all three points.