football.londonreporters select their Tottenham starting XIs for Sunday’s huge Premier League trip to Aston Villa
Roberto De Zerbi has claimed it will not be a miracle if Tottenham win at Villa Park this weekend.
It feels like the world is against his Spurs side at the moment in their quest to avoid the Premier League drop.
Last weekend, the Europa League winners lost Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke to injury and now the squad will have to rally themselves again as they bid to build on last week’s important triumph at Wolves.
football.london reporters Alasdair Gold (chief Tottenham correspondent) and Ryan Taylor select the Tottenham XIs they would like to see against Villa, who will have one eye on next week’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest following defeat at the City Ground.
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Alasdair Gold – Chief Tottenham Correspondent
Having no Xavi is of course a huge blow and it means De Zerbi will have to go for width as the main creator for his team rather than any playmaker. That means Mathys Tel should come into the side on the left wing with Randal Kolo Muani out on the right and Richarlison will likely come in for Solanke and be prepared to get his head on as many crosses as possible from the wingers and Pedro Porro.
I would like to see Lucas Bergvall given a go in the number 10 role, but I think De Zerbi will probably stick with Conor Gallagher as he trusts the 26-year-old’s work rate and experience.
Behind the attack, the rest of the team will probably remain unchanged. The Spurs boss told football.london that Destiny Udogie could be back in contention but he might stick with Djed Spence to start rather than throw the Italian straight back into the fray after his injury woes.
Joao Palhinha netted an important goal on Saturday but I think De Zerbi will stick with the pairing of Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma for a third straight game in order to build a partnership there.
Gold’s Tottenham XI vs Aston Villa: Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Bissouma; Kolo Muani, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison.
Ryan Taylor
Roberto De Zerbi’s hand will be forced following Xavi Simons’ ACL injury but luckily, Tottenham have a natural replacement in Mathys Tel ready to make his mark.
Antonin Kinsky has been superb in recent weeks, while there should be just one change in the back four if Destiny Udogie is fit to play as the Italian should replace Djed Spence.
Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven complete the backline.
In midfield, Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha will take care of business and lock the centre of the pitch down.
That will provide the forwards with a platform to express themselves and grab the goals Spurs require.
Tel can play from the left, Randal Kolo Muani should feature on the right with Conor Gallagher supporting Richarlison as the No.10, pressing from the front.
It’s a big game for Richarlison in particular as he needs to step up in the absence of Dominic Solanke, who suffered a hamstring problem at Molineux last weekend.
Taylor’s Tottenham XI vs Aston Villa: Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Palhinha; Kolo Muani, Gallagher, Tel; Richarlison.
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