SportsAurier drops out, Mourinho makes key change: Spurs' predicted XI vs Leicester
Tottenham welcome Leicester City to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this afternoon in a pivotal Premier League clash in the race for European qualification.
After beating Arsenal in the North London derby last week, Spurs have started to gain some momentum, as they then defeated Newcastle United 3-1 to mark Jose Mourinho’s first league win at St James’ Park.
Dele Alli remains absent for the game with Leicester, as he has missed the last four matches with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Tanguy Ndombele has been ruled out for the rest of the season, while Eric Dier serves the final match of his suspension.
The Foxes travel to Tottenham in fourth place, just ahead of Manchester United on goal difference alone, knowing that a slip-up in north London could give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side the impetus they need to usurp them for the final Champions League berth.
Transfer Tavern have put together a predicted starting lineup for Spurs, which sees Mourinho make adjustments to the side that travelled to Newcastle, as Moussa Sissoko drops to the defence while Steven Bergwijn makes his return.
Mourinho has admitted that he is unsure if Serge Aurier will be available for selection on Sunday, as he is back in France to mourn the death of his younger brother with his family.
The Ivorian is the club’s only specialist right-back, as Kyle Walker-Peters is currently on loan at Southampton, and the Spurs boss has been considering Gedson Fernandes, Oliver Skipp and Sissoko as possible alternatives instead.
Sissoko is the most experienced out of those players and he will likely slot into place alongside Davinson Sanchez on the right-hand side of defence.
Although Mourinho started the match against the Magpies with a 4-2-3-1 formation, it makes sense for him to revert back to a 4-4-1-1 system to compensate for the combined loss of Aurier and Alli.
Bergwijn replaced Lucas Moura in the second half at St James’ Park after his teammate picked up a knock. However, it seems as though Moura has made a full recovery, as he wasn’t mentioned in the club’s official team news ahead of the game.
The 22-year-old’s extra pace could punish Leicester, who have been hit by multiple injuries to several key players including James Maddison, Ben Chilwell, Christian Fuchs, while Caglar Soyuncu has also been suspended.
As Bergwijn hasn’t started since the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth, he should be fit and raring to go, and Spurs fans will be hoping he can make another major contribution if he starts, as he has scored in several big games so far. The Dutchman famously scored in front of the home crowd on his debut against Manchester City and also opening the scoring during the 1-1 draw with Manchester United last month.
In theory, Bergwijn could line up next to Harry Winks, which will allow Giovani Lo Celso to push further afield.
Make no mistake, this is a must-win game for Spurs if they want to stay in the mix with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United in the race for a place in the Europa League.
Tottenham fans, do you think this is how Mourinho will start against Leicester? Let us know your views in the comments section below!
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