Tottenham Hotspur are set to face one of their toughest tests in this new season as they meet Premier League champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow. The Lilywhites will be eyeing the league title this term and securing a win against the reigning champions so early in the season could significantly boost the confidence of the Spurs camp.
Here is how Mauricio Pochettino’s troops are expected to line up in what will the most fascinating encounter of the Premier League 2019/20 gameweek 2.
Formation: Pochettino will stick to the 4-3-1-2 setup that will give him the necessary numerical balance in midfield against City’s 4-3-3. It could even turn into a 4-4-2 during defensive phases.
Defence
Hugo Lloris is the undisputed number one goalkeeper for Tottenham. And the French World Cup winner’s performance in between the sticks will go a long way in shaping his club’s fate in this high-octane encounter. It will also be imperative that he doesn’t make any silly mistake while trying to play out from the back.
Jan Vertonghen is likely to miss out once again, which means Spurs’ central defensive pairing will comprise of Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez. Both of these defenders will be expecting a busy evening coming up against the mighty Man City attack that plundered 72 goals last season.
Kieran Trippier has left the club while new signing Ryan Sessegnon is out with injury. That means Serge Aurier is almost guaranteed to start at right-back, replacing the inexperienced Kyle Walker-Peters. Danny Rose, meanwhile, will retain his place on the opposite flank after performing well against Aston Villa last weekend.
Midfield
Harry Winks will get the nod ahead of Eric Dier in the holding midfield role, although the youngster will mostly operate as a deep-lying playmaker. His impressive passing and ball distribution will be key as Spurs will have to retain possession well against this Man City side.
Winks will be complemented by the midfield duo of Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele. The latter were excellent in the win over Aston Villa. But, it will be interesting to see how he performs against the likes of Rodri and Kevin de Bruyne this weekend.
Attack
Christian Eriksen is expected to start after making a substitute appearance against the Villans. The Dane will replace Erik Lamela while Dele Alli is injured. That means he will occupy his favoured number ten role, just behind two central strikers in Harry Kane and Lucas Moura.
This will be the last match before Heung-Min Son returns from his suspension. But, his absence will be a huge blow for Spurs in this game nonetheless.
