Tottenham Hotspur will need to quickly respond after their unexpected upset loss over the weekend, as they now get ready to face London rivals Chelsea. How might Jose Mourinho line up his team on Thursday, against the only club that he has two managerial stints with?
It was a disappointing game at the weekend for Spurs, who lost to Brighton in a match where their attack did not look threatening at all. They will need that to change that when they take on their local rivals, otherwise, it could well be another disappointing defeat for the North Londoners.
Chelsea FC at Tottenham Hotspur FYI
Kickoff: Thursday, Feb. 4, 8 pm GMT, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Chelsea Team News, Updates to Spurs News: go here
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction: go here
TV (USA): None, Stream: Peacock
Odds: Tottenham +245 Draw +235 Chelsea +115
Series History (across all competitions): Tottenham 55, Draw 41, Chelsea 72
Premier League Form Guide: Tottenham LLWDW Chelsea WDLWL
And to make matters worse for Mourinho, he will be without quite a few members of his side. Harry Kane is out with a injured long term with an ankle problem. Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso are also unavailable. Dele Alli is apparently frozen out at the club after his escape to PSG collapsed on transfer window deadline day.
Addtionally, there are doubts over the availability of Tanguy Ndombele, who was substituted against Brighton.
Given the lack of options, it is likely that Spurs will once again go with a 3-4-2-1 formation as it gives them more solidity. Hugo Lloris will be in goal and there will be three centre backs.
That trio will consist of Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld and Eric Dier. They will have a real challenge on their hands given the quality that is present in the Chelsea attack. These three will have to be solid in order to give them any chance of winning.
One change that we might see, in midfield, is Matt Doherty coming in as the right wing back. And it will be Ben Davies on the left for this game as well. The doubt over Ndombele will help bring Moussa Sissoo back into central midfield. He will be paired with his usual partner, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
They will have to protect the defence, as well as look to try and release the speedy attackers ahead of them at any given chance. In attack, it is highly likely that Gareth Bale will drop to the bench and Steven Bergwijn will take his place.
Tottenham will look to go with a centre forward, and give their attack a focal point.
That will result in Carlos Vinicius being given a chance and he will also have Spurs’ attacker in chief, Heung-min Son along with him. These three will be looking to hit the Blues on the counter as that will be the team’s best chance to get a goal.
Predicted Tottenham Starting XI Against Chelsea (3-4-2-1):
Hugo Lloris, Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Matt Doherty, Moussa Sissoko, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Ben Davies, Steven Bergwijn, Heung-min Son, Carlos Vinicius