How Ange Postecoglu should line up against Crystal Palace

On Sunday afternoon, at 14:00 GMT, Spurs will take to the field in South London, as they play winless Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The hosts are without a win from their first eight games of the season, despite an incredible end to last season.

Ange Postecoglu’s side did have a game on Thursday night in the Europa League, though Palace did play as recently as Monday night anyway, and they have had to travel more than Spurs. That too and with the amount of rotation on Thursday, fatigue should not be an issue for this one.

That said, Spurs will be without captain Heung Min-Son for this one, most likely, as he did not take part in Friday’s training session – though Ange did stress it was nothing serious.

So, how should Ange line up in his absence? Most of the team feels settled, with two talking points – the left central midfield position, and the left-wing.

In truth, it would be harsh to bench James Maddison after his performances this season, particularly in the last month, but Pape Sarr’s performance off the bench in the win at West Ham United is hard to ignore. It isn’t anything to do with Maddison’s display being bad, but rather Sarr’s just being really, really good.

With Oliver Glasner’s side playing a midfield two, Ange may look to try and set the team up to try and overrun their hosts, and may feel like the energy and dynamism of Sarr could help with that. Equally, Ange may see Palace’s midfield two as a way for there to be license to play both Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, with less worry about Spurs being overran themselves.

Overall, the edge is given to Sarr – just. Maddison can find himself unlucky, but it does feel like he started on Thursday night in the idea that he would not start this one, considering the amount of starters that were on the bench.

Then, there is the left-wing conundrum. Mikey Moore feels like the straightforward option, but he did play 87 minutes in midweek. Wilson Odobert got minutes from the bench, but a start could be seen as slightly premature. If he comes on against tired legs, there is less physical disparity – and it will only go further to slowly building up his match sharpness, without the risk of starting.

So, overall, the best solution feels like starting Moore, playing him for 45-60 minutes, and bringing Odobert on if necessary.

How Ange should line up against Crystal Palace on Sunday; Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bissouma, Sarr; Johnson, Solanke, Moore.