Tottenham Hotspur face a return match with PSG on Wednesday night as the two teams go head-to-head again, this time in the Champions League, and TEAMtalk has predicted how Thomas Frank will line his side up against the holders – with one headline name dropped to the bench.
After squandering a two-goal lead in the Super Cup final against the French giants before eventually losing on penalties, Spurs will be looking for revenge in a game which could see them jump into the top eight of the expanded group phase with a win.
However, Tottenham go into the contest on the back of one of their worst performances of the season, having suffered a 4-1 humbling at north London rivals Arsenal on Sunday.
Indeed, the lack of ambition and a clear tactical approach to the game left some fans firing shots at Frank, who is on a slippery slope unless performances and results start to pick up.
With all that in mind, the big question is whether the Spurs boss opts for a back three again, as he did in the first contest with PSG and also against the Gunners over the weekend.
Judging by how disjointed Tottenham were against Arsenal and how badly the game went, we predict that Frank will go back to a four and look to pack his midfield – which is likely to mean bad news for Xavi Simons against his old club.
Injury list
Tottenham remains without the likes of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke for the contest, while Radu Dragusin and Kota Takai are not yet ready to return.
Brennan Johnson is suspended after his red card last time out against Copenhagen, while Mathys Tel is ineligible.
Selection battles
The back five pretty much picks itself, with Pedro Porro almost certain to return at right-back. There is, however, a chance that Djed Spence switches to the left, given that Destiny Udogie rarely plays two games close together in a row, due to his past injury record.
Skipper Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven will look to form a solid foundation centrally, but also supply a goal threat – with both players on target in that Super Cup clash with PSG.
Midfield is always an interesting call, given it remains a weak point of this Tottenham team and one that Frank will probably try and rectify in January.
Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur playing together has shown time and time again that it does not work, with the latter coming off arguably his worst game of the season at Arsenal.
To that end, Pape Sarr and Lucas Bergvall step up from the bench, with the latter in a more advanced role that leaves Simons among the substitutes again. Sarr and Bergvall should give the Spurs engine room some energy and running power that was sorely lacking at Emirates Stadium.
Mohammed Kudus is a nailed-on starter on the right of the front three, while Randal Kolo Muani is handed the start against his parent club, given that Champions League regulations allow that.
The left side remains a conundrum, but we believe Frank will opt for experience and start Richarlison there ahead of Wilson Odobert.
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Predicted XI (4-3-3)
GK – Guglielmo Vicario
RB – Pedro Porro
CB – Cristian Romero
CB – Micky van de Ven
LB – Djed Spence
CM – Joao Palhinha
CM – Pape Sarr
AM – Lucas Bergvall
RW – Mohammed Kudus
ST – Randal Kolo Muani
LW – Richarlison