Antonio Conte returns to Tottenham Hotspur with something of a squad crisis on his hands as he’ll be without several first-team stars for their trip to Leicester City in the Premier League.
The Italian will be without experienced no.1 Hugo Lloris for at least six weeks after he picked up a knee injury in last weekend’s 1-0 win over defending champions Manchester City, whilst centre-back Cristian Romero serves his one-game suspension following two bookable offences in the same game.
Yves Bissouma is another notable absentee with the Mali international set to undergo surgery for an ankle fracture.
It leaves plenty of questions about what sort of side we’ll see at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
How will Tottenham lineup against Leicester?
Porro made to wait, Conte unleashes £25m “big talent” in 4 changes: Predicted Spurs XI – opinion
There could be as many as four changes from the side that defeated Pep Guardiola’s men only six days ago, two of which being enforced.
Between the sticks, backup Fraser Forster is set to be handed first-choice duties over the coming weeks, whilst Davinson Sanchez is drafted in for the suspended Argentine, having come on moments after his sending off last weekend.
He’ll join both Eric Dier and Clement Lenglet, who gets the nod over Ben Davies, in the back three.
Pedro Porro will still have to wait for his debut after Emerson Royal’s “defensive masterclass” against the Citizens, so the Brazilian should keep his place, whilst “big, big talent” Ryan Sessegnon – as once lauded by ex-teammate Stefan Johansen – comes in for Ivan Perisic in a move that puts upcoming fixtures in mind.
Spurs play AC Milan in the Champions League during the week before welcoming West Ham United to north London next weekend and Conte cannot afford to have many more injuries or suspensions in key positions, so the Croatian veteran is rested in favour of the £25m gem ahead of those outings.
Oliver Skipp is vying for a rare start but the Italian head coach should stick with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur in the engine room, with the front three also remaining the same despite Heung-min Son’s recent struggles.
The South Korean, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski make up the starting XI, though they are being pushed by the likes of Richarlison and recent signing Arnaut Danjuma, who scored on his debut in the FA Cup a few games ago.
Source: msn
