Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou may be tempted to make mass changes against Aston Villa.
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Tottenham fans will already be counting down the days until the Europa League final on May 21, with their Premier League still proving disastrous. Spurs lost again over the weekend, this time against London rivals Crystal Palace, and they can no longer surpass their lowest-ever Premier League points tally of 44.
Ange Postecoglou’s men are currently on 38 points, so they can only equal that total, and they would have to win both of their remaining games. In truth, Spurs are very lucky that the bottom three haven’t put up much of a fight this season, given 38 points with two games remaining would usually leave a team needing at least one more win.
At this point, it’s no secret that all of Tottenham’s eggs are in the Europa League basket having reached the final. Spurs take on Manchester United in the Bilbao final on May 21, and not only can they end their 17-year trophy drought, but they can also qualify for next season’s Champions League at the same time. That would mean they find a way to achieve their pre-season goal despite likely having the worst Premier League season in their history.
There is one more Premier League game to play before that final, though, with Spurs back in action against Aston Villa on Friday night. The game was going to be played on Sunday, but with Manchester United playing on Friday night, the Premier League agreed it would only be fair for Spurs to play the same night and get the same period of rest.
Can Tottenham rest their whole team against Aston Villa?
Given there is nothing riding on the fixture, and with Tottenham having had a torrid time with injuries this season, it would be wise for Postecoglou to rest his key players during the Villa fixture, even if there is a question of keeping rhythm going into that final.
But in years gone by, we have seen the Premier League hand out fines to clubs for over-rotating their starting XIs. Blackpool were fined £25,000 for rotating 10 of their starting XI - ironically also against Aston Villa - during their time in the top flight.
The rule was established in a bid to make sure that there was a level playing field, in that, for example, the Tottenham team Aston Villa face is as strong as the Tottenham team another team had to play at a different stage of the season. But the rule was heavily debated at the time, given clubs are requested to submit a 25-man Premier League squad. If a club thinks all of those players are good enough to play in the Premier League, they should have the right to use all of those players how they see fit.
And after the conclusion of the 2010/11 season, the clubs agreed to modify the rules to allow for mass rotation. A spokesman for the Premier League said at the time: "The clubs voted at the last Premier League Annual General Meeting to modify the rule regarding clubs fielding full strength teams (E.20). From 2011/12 onwards the rule will allow any combination of players included in a club's 25-man squad list to be selected for a Premier League fixture.
"The 25-man squad rules do allow clubs to pick Under-21 players beyond those named in their squad list and, with this in mind, it was agreed by the clubs that it was appropriate for the rule to remain in place in order to ensure the integrity of the competition."
That means Tottenham can make significant changes, but they will have to use much of their 25-man squad, able to play under-23s team players but only within reason.