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Tottenham Hotspur projected XI to face Leicester City

By Aaron Coe

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 19: Dejan Kulusevski of Tottenham Hotspur applauds fans at full time during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium on February 19, 2022 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 19: Dejan Kulusevski of Tottenham Hotspur applauds fans at full time during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium on February 19, 2022 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: Ryan Sessegnon of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring their side's first goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 06: Ryan Sessegnon of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring their side’s first goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images) /

Tottenham Midfield Projections

Maybe the area of the pitch where fans likely want to see the most change is the midfield. Emerson Royal and Pierre Hojbjerg have drawn the ire of fans for their performances against Sporting, but we anticipate both will again start on Saturday.

Left wing-back – Ryan Sessegnon

Like Lenglet, Ryan Sessegnon started in the last Premier League match, not Ivan Perisic, who has started both Champions League games. We are projecting that rotation on the left to continue, with Sessegnon continuing to get minutes, having earned them with his play thus far this season.

Central-midfield – Pierre Hojbjerg

There is no doubt that Pierre Hojbjerg has had better games for Tottenham than his performance in Portugal. However, Hojbjerg has had an excellent start to the season outside of Tuesday. Hojbjerg has been more progressive with his passing than in past years, has popped up in the box to score, and has not lost anything in defensive contributions. The Dane is allowed to have a poor outing from time to time, as they are few and far between. Now the continual complaints to the officials are a different story…

Central Midfield – Rodrigo Bentancur

Another player who was not at the top of their game against Sport, Rodrigo Bentancur, is almost assuredly going to start again. Bentancur’s only previous absence this season was injury related – after suffering a blow to his head – and in his pre-game press conference, Conte referenced that we would see more of both Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp after the international break. In other words, expect to see Bentancur on Saturday next to Hojbjerg.

Right wing-back – Emerson Royal

Maybe the brunt of more fan criticism than any other player since he arrived at N17, Emerson Royal will again be the right wing-back for Tottenham on Saturday to face the Foxes. Royal was fatigued at the end of the Sporting game, but that was from a serious shift from box-to-box up the wing. And after receiving a ringing endorsement from Conte in the press conference, there is no reason to believe a change is forthcoming.

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