After two disappointing defeats in a row, Tottenham will be hoping to bounce back with a win against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
Ange postecoglou side suffered back-to-back defeats against London rivals, losing 3-2 against Arsenal in the North London Derby last Sunday, before suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea on Thursday evening.
Their tough run continues this weekend at Anfield, as they try to put the final nail in the coffin of Liverpool’s failed title challenge. Indeed, the Reds have been in patchy form too, having picked up just four points from their last four premier league games.
Spurs are currently hunting down Aston Villa who occupy the fourth and final Champions League qualification place. They are currently seven point behind Unai Emery’s side, although they have a game in hand.
It could well be the case that Postecoglou decides to rotate the Spurs side ahead of the trip to Liverpool this Sunday. There are three potential change the Lilywhites manager could make ahead of the crunch clash…
There is a good argument that the signing of Guglielmo Vicario was the best transfer deal Spurs made last summer
They signed him from Empoli for an initial fee of £17
2m and he is proving his worth so far
The 27-year-old has made some excellent saves and kept six clean sheets in the Premier League this season, as well as one in the FA Cup
Since joining Spurs last January on loan to buy from Sporting, Pedro Porro has impressed, but under Postecoglou he has taken his game to the next level
The Spaniard has one goal and seven assists this season for Spurs, according to SofaScore, the second most assists for Spurs this season, behind only the captain Son Heung-min, who had nine assists
He also created the third most chances, behind only Son with 17 and Dejan Kulusevski with 13 having more than Porro with 12
Postecoglou showed great confidence in Romero at the start of the season when he established him as a of Spurs’ two vice-presidents
captain
He has played a key role this season, making 29 appearances and scoring an impressive five goals
The Argentinian is a tough defender and very dominant in duels
According to SofaScore, he wins an average of 2
9 ground duels and 2
7 aerial duels per 90 minutes this season
The first of three changes for Spurs could see January signing Radu Dragusin get the nod at centre-back
The Lilywhites paid Genoa £26
7m for his services five months ago, although his chances were slim
So far, the Romanian has only made six appearances for Spurs, making two starts in matches against Fulham and Luton
He could be in contention for a starting spot this week due to a tactical adjustment from Postecoglou
The reason Dragusin can start is because Mickey van de Ven can replace the left back
Since Destiny Udogie’s injury, Spurs have replaced him with Ben Davies and Emerson, but both have struggled
So Postecoglou could well switch to Van de Ven Indeed, Van de Ven has played 15 times at left-back in his career, but never for Spurs
His excellent pace and ability on the ball will serve him well in this role
The second change Postecoglou could make is to introduce Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg into the center of midfield, ahead of Yves Bissouma
The Dane, who has made 33 Premier League appearances this season for Spurs, will bring a wealth of experience to his midfield
According to SofaScore, he has an average of 3
5 ball recoveries and wins an average of 1
7 duels per 90 minutes this season
Pape Matar Sarr will likely keep his place in midfield after the defeat against Chelsea
This young midfielder left a big impression in his first full season in the Premier League
Sarr has contributed to six goals this season, scoring three and providing three assists
When he doesn’t have the ball, he works hard, averaging 4
4 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, according to SofaScore
He will certainly continue to be a key factor under Postecoglou
Since returning from injury, James Maddison’s early season form has declined somewhat, leading to Postecoglou dropping him against Chelsea last season
However, against Liverpool, he could absolutely return to the team in place of Richarlison – who only had 19 touches of the ball before being booked in the midweek defeat
That said, Maddison’s qualities are evident, and he has been described by pundit Jamie O’Hara as a “magician”
This season he has 4 goals and 7 assists, which is still the 4th highest number of goals combined
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