The north London club Tottenham Hotspur were slumped to a defeat in front of an 85,000 crowd at Wembley a couple of days ago. The side played their first Champions League fixture after six years, but that, unfortunately, will no longer be the one to remember. The side found themselves lagging behind by two goals in the span of 30 minutes, but the goal from Alderweireld brought the side right back into the game, but that in the end, wasn’t enough to clinch the points.
Pochettino’s men, in the Premier League last term, defeated the Potters very comfortably and hence, the cards were on their side, and now, they will be looking to keep their head high as David Moyes and co will be visiting the Lilly-Whites this Sunday. Sunderland, who are yet to win a Premier League game, are under immense pressure and a visit to the White Hart Lane has made their condition worse.
David Moyes’ side were thrashed 3-0 by his former club Everton on Monday, and they will be hoping to get a fair result out of, at least a draw would do the trick for them. It is obvious that Pochettino will be prioritising the Premier League ahead of the Champions League; hence, a creative game from the Lilly-Whites is expected.
Here is the predicted lineup for Tottenham, that could face Stoke this Sunday:
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris-
The French skipper could have done little to save the goals, as they were far from his reach, and beyond that, he was hardly tested. He will surely start the game for the side this weekend ahead of Vorm, who did a great job in his absence.
Defence: Walker; Alderweireld; Vertonghen; Rose-
The right-hand side will be occupied by the Englishman Kyle Walker. Walker, unlike his previous outings, wasn’t that impressive against Monaco, but he was not that poor as well. He has been a consistent performer for the side since the last season and the performances like these will only make him better.
The centre-back pairing is expected to be the same. Toby Alderweireld has been the heart of Tottenham’s defence and his presence has always provided the positive vibes in the team. His partner will be his countryman, Jan Vertonghen. The defender gave a shaky performance as he was troubled by Falcao, but he could well improve against Sunderland.
Danny Rose is expected to return on the field after missing the number of games due to injury and that means, Ben Davies will return to the bench.
Holding Pair: Dier; Wanyama-
Pochettino opted to start with Dele Alli in a deeper role against Monaco in the Champions League and that decision did not go in their favour, hence, he might return to his old school chaps. The former Sporting man has been a rock for the side but till date, he hasn’t reached his full potential.
Wanyama, on the other hand, was dropped from the lineup only to use him in the Premier League. So the old holding pair might feature against the Black Cats.
Attacking Trio: Lamela; Alli; Eriksen-
Lamela was considerable very poor against the French giants, but he could well be the one against Sunderland.
With Lamela holding the right flank, the Danish international, Christian Eriksen, will be marching on the other wing. He struggled badly to make an impact on the game last time out, but we personally believe that he could cause a serious damage against Sunderland.
Dele Alli, who threatened the second half of the game, is expected to line up this weekend. He opened up play and created chances with his clever footwork, but failed to produce an end result.
Striker: Harry Kane-
The Englishman was considerably very poor in the Champions League. He did drop deep and helped with breaking through Monaco’s lines, but his attacking resilience were heavily criticized. But he indeed is an important player, hence, a starter for the next game.
