Fourth placed Tottenham Hotspur host Sunderland in their next fixture of the back of 2 draws and a loss in their last three games in all competitions. In complete contrast, the relegation threatened Sunderland have notched up back to back wins in the league against Aston Villa and Swansea and will be hoping to continue with their fine form. With just a solitary point separating them from the 5th placed West Ham, Spurs will be keen to get their best 11 on the pitch to ensure there is no upset come Saturday.
Defence- Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose
Hugo Lloris starts in goal for the Spurs. The Belgium has been very critical to the sides defensive discipline and is an inspiring presence to have in between the sticks. He will be shielded by the partnership of Alderweireld and Vertonghen who have complemented each other very well over the course of the season. However, we believe that Pochettino will bring in Danny Rose for Ben Davies to add pace alongside Kyle Walker.
The key to success remains the central pairing, who will need to contain the free scoring Jermaine Defoe through out the evening. Defoe’s reputation does not allow for any lapses in concentration as the former Spurs man has shown a knack of giving his side something to cheer about from the minutest of opportunities.
Midfield- Dier, Dembele, Alli
Dembele featured for 20 minutes against the Foxes and given his quality on and off the ball, it will be very tough to keep him out of a crunch game. The Belgium midfielder will form a pivot alongside Erik Dier, who is impressing one and all with his calm and composed yet stellar presence in the Tottenham midfield. The duo will have Dele Alli operating in front of them and acting as the engine of this Spurs side.
Alli, despite being just 19 and only in his first year at White Hart Lane has already established himself as a key member of this side.
Forwards- Son, Eriksen and Kane
While Lamela has looked a better player this season, we believe its time Son got a look into the side on a fairly regular basis. The former Leverkusen man possesses all the ingredients to turn things around as shown during his time with Leverkusen. He will be accompanied by the Christian Eriksen who has been creating chances at will this season. The Danish midfielder has created 50 chances and scored 2 goals and packs a punch with his movement, ability with the ball and passing.
The duo will look to create chances for their prolific Number 9 Harry Kane, who is expected to start at the top of the line up. While he leads the goal scoring charts at White Hart Lane with 11 goals, he has not scored in three consecutive games and that is a worrying point because of the lack of goals that come from the other parts of the pitch. We just hope this game is just the beginning of a goal scoring streak for the English striker.
