Tottenham Hotspur depth to be tested against Newcastle

Coming off a poor showing against Manchester United midweek, Tottenham Hotspur is turning to depth to bounce back against Newcastle United. 

During the week, Tottenham Hotspur played their worst match of the season against Manchester United. As a result, we see a lot of rotation in Antonio Conte‘s side to face Newcastle in a must-win game. With regular starters Cristian Romero and Pierre Hojbjerg not in the squad for Sunday’s game, Spurs will need new players to step up, and their depth will be tested.

Tottenham with lots of injuries and absences

Before the line-up was even announced, Spurs fans knew the team to face Newcastle would be a mixed bag. Forwards Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski are both still hurt, leaving Conte short-handed in the attack, with only Bryan Gil and Lucas Moura as alternatives to Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.

In previous matches with fewer attacking players available, Spurs would try and compensate with a stronger midfield. With Hojbjerg absent, the midfield is stretched thin across a five-man line.

Ryan Sessegnon and Emerson Royal have been recalled and are joining Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, and Oliver Skipp, who is starting his first match this season. Last year, Skipp was an everyday starter until an injury in January ended his season, and now he is making his first start since then.

With Hojbjerg out and Skipp in the line-up, academy graduate Harvey White has been brought up to the bench to provide some cover in the middle of the park, reflecting just how thin Spurs are right now.

Conte is hopeful the right side is not wrong.

With Romero out, Davinson Sanchez is back starting at right back and is backed up by Japhet Tanganga, who has made the bench for a second straight match. With Allan Saint-Maximin out today, the risk is not as significant as it would have been if the speedster had been playing.

Of course, the Sanchez/Royal right side does not seem to engender much confidence in fans, but we need to put some faith in Conte and his decision-making. Fans will be hoping a few matches off helped Emerson find his attacking boots, and we need Sanchez to keep his calm for 90 minutes.

It is not the 11 most fans probably wanted to see today, but it is the 11 we have, and by the end of the game, we will have a better idea of just how much depth Tottenham does or does not have.