Tottenham Hotspur are back in Premier League action on Sunday, when they welcome Aston Villa to north London, in a game where TEAMtalk predicts Thomas Frank makes two changes and also an unpopular positional switch for one star.
Back from the latest international break, Spurs are facing a Villa side who have started to hit their stride after a difficult start to the new campaign, in what should be an entertaining match-up.
Frank’s men managed to get back to winning ways as they triumphed 2-1 at Leeds United last time out, courtesy of goals from Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus.
However, the former looks set to return to the bench for the clash with Unai Emery’s in-form side, as the Tottenham boss picks what is arguably his strongest available side for what will be a difficult contest.
Indeed, we believe that Frank will make two changes from that side that won at Elland Road, and also make an unpopular positional move that will bolster his engine room.
Strong spine to defeat Villa
One thing you do need to compete with Aston Villa is to be strong through the middle of your team, and with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in fine form that at least gives Tottenham a strong base to build from.
In the home defeat to Bournemouth and the fortunate draw with Wolves, Spurs were outnumbered and outworked in the middle of the park, and it would be a huge mistake if Frank does not strengthen that area against a Villa side that don’t play with too much width.
Indeed, they will likely have Lamare Bogarde and Boubacar Kamara sitting in front of their back four, assuming Youri Tielemans is not passed fit. In front of them, narrow once again, will be John McGinn and Morgan Rogers.
That overload will potentially cause big problems and is why Simons will struggle to impact the game centrally, with Lucas Bergvall filling in but playing a bit deeper than a normal No.10 role.
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Simons shifted out left again
With the need to man up with Villa centrally, Simons will almost certainly start wide left – especially in the absence of a genuine threat in that position, as £25m signing Wilson Odobert misses out.
It’s not his best position, but he can still have a big effect on the game in a role in which he should at least get a bit more space and time to create.
Up front, £35m Tel drops to the bench to be replaced by Richarlison after the Brazilian was rested against Leeds, over fears he has already been called upon too much this season due to injuries to Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani.
There is a chance, however, that the latter could be back on the bench against Villa after playing in a behind-closed-doors practice match during the international break.
Latest Tottenham news
First up, the rumour mill has started working in overdrive after it emerged that major Tottenham transfer target Harry Gray’s profile on Instagram has been stripped of his association with Leeds United.
Elsewhere, TEAMtalk have recently brought you reports that Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is not completely happy with the goalkeeping situation at the club, but we have looked at why moving on from current No.1 Guglielmo Vicario could end up being a major mistake.
And finally, Spurs are interested in signing Dusan Vlahovic following the return of Fabio Paratici, sources have told TEAMtalk, but Chelsea, too, are keen on the Juventus and Serbia international as they spy a bargain deal.