After two disappointing defeats in a row, Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping to bounce back with a win against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
Ange Postecoglou’s side suffered back-to-back defeats against London rivals, losing 3-2 against Arsenal in the North London Derby last Sunday, before suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea on Thursday evening.
Their tough run continues this weekend at Anfield, as they try to put the final nail in the coffin of Liverpool’s failed title challenge. Indeed, the Reds have been in patchy form too, having picked up just four points from their last four Premier League games.
Spurs are currently hunting down Aston Villa who occupy the fourth and final Champions League qualification place. They are currently seven points behind Unai Emery’s side, although they have a game in hand.
It could well be the case that Postecoglou decides to rotate the Spurs side ahead of the trip to Liverpool this Sunday. There are three potential changes the Lilywhites manager could make ahead of the crunch clash…
1
GK – Guglielmo Vicario
There are fair arguments to say that the signing of Guglielmo Vicario has been the best piece of transfer business Spurs conducted last summer. They signed him from Empoli for an initial fee of £17.2m, and he is so far proving his worth.
The 27-year-old has made some fantastic saves and has kept six clean sheets in the Premier League so far this season, as well as one in the FA Cup.
2
RB – Pedro Porro
Since joining Spurs last January on a loan-to-buy deal from Sporting, Pedro Porro has impressed, but under Postecoglou, he has taken his game to a whole new level.
The Spaniard has one goal and seven assists this season for Spurs, which, as per SofaScore, is the second-most assists for Spurs this season, bettered only by captain Son Heung-min, who has nine. He has also created the third-most big chances, with only Son with 17 and Dejan Kulusevski with 13 having more than Porro’s 12.
3
CB – Cristian Romero
Postecoglou showed great faith in Romero at the start of the season by making him one of the two Spurs vice-captains. He has played a big role this season, featuring 29 times and scoring an impressive five goals.
The Argentine is a tough defender and is very dominant in duels. According to SofaScore, he wins an average of 2.9 ground duels and 2.7 aerial duels per 90 minutes this season.
4
CB – Radu Dragusin
The first of the three Spurs changes could see January signing Radu Dragusin get the nod at centre-back. The Lilywhites paid Genoa £26.7m to acquire his services five months ago, although his opportunities have been few and far between.
The Romanian has made just six appearances in a Spurs shirt so far, making two starts, in back-to-back games against Fulham and Luton. He could be in line to start this week due to a tactical tweak from Postecoglou.
5
LB – Mickey van de Ven
The reason Dragusin could start is because Mickey van de Ven could fill in at left-back. Since Destiny Udogie’s injury, Spurs have played both Ben Davies and Emerson in his place, but both have struggled. Thus, Postecoglou might well turn to Van de Ven.
Indeed, Van de Ven has played at left-back 15 times in his career, although never for Spurs. His pace and excellent ability on the ball will stand him in good stead for that role.
6
CM – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
The second change Postecoglou could make is to start Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the centre of midfield, ahead of Yves Bissouma.
The Dane, who has played 33 times in the Premier League this season for Spurs, will bring lots of experience to their midfield. As per SofaScore, he averages 3.5 ball recoveries and wins an average of 1.7 ground duels per 90 minutes this season.
7
CM – Pape Matar Sarr
Likely keeping his place in midfield from the defeat against Chelsea is Pape Matar Sarr. The young midfielder has left a great impression in his first full season of Premier League football.
Sarr has contributed to six goals this season, scoring three and registering three assists. Off the ball, he works very hard, winning an average of 4.4 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, according to SofaScore. He will no doubt continue to be a key player under Postecoglou.
8
AM – James Maddison
Since returning from injury, James Maddison’s early season form has taken a bit of a nosedive, leading to Postecoglou dropping him against Chelsea last season. However, against Liverpool, he could well come back into the side instead of Richarlison – who had just 19 touches before being booked on the hour mark during the midweek defeat.
With that being said, Maddison’s quality is obvious, and he was described as a “magician” by pundit Jamie O’Hara. This season, he has four goals and seven assists, which is still the fourth-most combined goal involvements for Spurs this season.
9
RW – Dejan Kulusevski
Swedish international Dejan Kulusevski played as a number 10 against Chelsea, in behind his captain Son. However, he could well shift back out to the right wing against Liverpool, to accommodate Maddison.
The 24-year-old is a silky dribbler, who averages a competition of 1.6 dribbles per game as per SofaScore. Not only that, the 13 big chances he has created for Spurs this season are bettered only by Son.
10
LW – Brennan Johnson
It has been a successful first season for Brennan Johnson in a Spurs shirt, following his £47.5m move from Nottingham Forest on deadline day last summer.
The Welsh international has 12 combined goal involvements in the Premier League, which is more than any other player side from Son with 25 and Richarlison with 13. This is already Johnson’s best return in the Premier League, beating his tally from the 2022/23 season.
11
CF – Son Heung-min
The first name on the teamsheet for Spurs is their skipper. The 31-year-old is having a stellar season so far and has comfortably been his side’s best player.
So far this season, Son has 16 goals and nine assists in 31 games, with his most recent goal coming against Arsenal in the North London Derby. He will be hoping to spur the Lillywhites on against Liverpool and get themselves back to winning ways.
Predicted Spurs lineup in full vs Arsenal: (GK) Guglielmo Vicario; (RB) Pedro Porro, (CB) Cristian Romero, (CB) Radu Dragusin, (LB) Micky van de Ven; (CM) Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, (CM) Pape Matar Sarr; (RW) Dejan Kulusevski, (AM) James Maddison, (LW) Brennan Johnson; (CF) Heung-min Son
Related
Ange must now drop Spurs’ 5/10 dud who was as bad as Emerson
This Tottenham star cost his side in the fight to secure a top-four finish.
