Projecting the Tottenham Hotspur 11 for midweek trip to West Ham

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Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier (R) celebrates his goal with teammate Ryan Sessegnon during the exhibition football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on July 13, 2022. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP) (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images) /

Tottenham Hotspur is about to see its season kick into gear with a midweek London derby against West Ham; here, we predict how Spurs will rotate their 11.

After four games in as many weeks, Tottenham Hotspur will play as many games over 11 days. Those four matches include two London derbies, the defending Premier League champions, and the first UEFA Champions League game. With a lot of football ahead, we can expect Antonio Conte to start rotating his squad and changing his XI. Here we predict the team Conte will field against the Hammers.

Projecting the Tottenham Defense against the Hammers

One area of the pitch where there are likely to be fewer changes than more is in defense. Defenders typically do not run as much as, say, a wing-back, and with Cristian Romero still out with an injury, the team is already into the reserves.

Left-back – Clement Lenglet

It seems strange to list anyone other than Ben Davies as the left back, with Davies starting the last 26 straight matches in the Premier League. However, Davies is coming off an injury in pre-season and has played every minute of the first four games. Clement Lenglet was brought in to provide some cover and maybe even some competition for Davies. Just how much we should begin to see on Wednesday.

Center-back – Eric Dier

Although there will technically be back-ups on both sides of him, Eric Dier is the only known center, center-back on the team. While there is still some time for the transfer window to provide some cover, for now, it is Dier or bust.

Right-back – Davinson Sanchez

How skillful his play looks is debatable, but there is no debating that Davinson Sanchez has been part of a lot of shutouts of late. Starting in all four matches to end last season and the last two games for Spurs, Sanchez is on a hot streak. Let’s hope it continues against West Ham.

Goalkeeper – Hugo Lloris

With back-to-back shutouts, Hugo Lloris seems to be finding his stride. Lloris did not make a ton of saves against Forest this past weekend, but he had to be alert and ready to come off his line to get the ball. Lloris showed he still has excellent sweeper-keeper instincts and seems to be finding his rhythm in goal.