Tottenham Hotspur will face Coventry on Monday Night Football after their 1-1 draw with Manchester United, and many pundits see this as an early do or die game for Spurs, given Coventry are a newly promoted side and probably expected to be in the relegation fight at the end of the season. Tottenham, of course, are 19th in the Premier League table and coming off an intense relegation battle last season that went down to the wire.
Spurs have another huge game the weekend after against rivals Chelsea, who got the better of them consistently last season. Chelsea have an exciting new coach of their own in Xabi Alonso, and whlie the Blues are far from air tight, they are sixth in the table and heavy favorites to beat their London rivals.
Tottenham will be getting a big boost, though. As Pedro Porro himself has confirmed on social media he is "almost back", and whlie that indicates, as expected, he's not ready to recover yet for the Coventry game, he should be ready to face Chelsea. And maybe Spurs ease him by not starting him then since he has had so many fitness issues after an incredible, victorious World Cup for Spain, he is too important not to start against Chelsea after several weeks to rest with the hamstring injury he suffered against Aston Villa just before the three week break.
Pedro Porro should be ready for Chelsea
Porro's return is a big boost to the wingers, and it puts an intriguing scenario on the table for Tottenham Hotspur. Mohammed Kudus is currently starting on the right wing, and we know De Zerbi likes having inverted wingers since they can cut inside and shoot. And everyone, De Zerbi most of all, knows Spurs need goals. Kudus, though, isn't as good at getting into scoring situations as Savio, evne though both are primarly creators.
With Savio outplaying Kudus, De Zerbi could move Savio to the right, make Kudus a super sub, and then start Omar Marmoush on the left to get Dominic Solanke back in at striker. Now, Mathys Tel on the left wing and the Frenchman's return to the starting lineup is a possibility, since Tel has played very well for the youth national team and even for Spurs in the preseason befoer a poor start to the season.
But Solanke and Marmoush are more proven players in the Premier League and better goal scorers than Tel, even if they have struggled to find the back of the net this season. De Zerbi's choices with Pedro Porro out against Coventry and how they do on Matchday 6 will surely impact the Italian manager's decisions vs. Chelsea, but it looks like a front three of Marmoush, Solanke, and Savio may be the best lineup possible.
And having Porro back gives Spurs more attacking verve and quality on the right flank than Archie Gray, who did well in his stead but is clearly not a real right back. Porro can allow the right winger to get inside more and be more of a scoring threat, and that builds a stronger case for Savio to start there, which raises the possibility of Marmoush shifting over to the left to take his place and for both Solanke and Marmoush to work together, which we have not seen enough of.
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