Tottenham Star Set for Leeds Heartbreak After De Zerbi Comments

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Tottenham Hotspur know they can take a huge step towards Premier League safety when they host Leeds United on Monday night.

Tottenham would have been keen viewers of West Ham United's match against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, with the Premier League relegation battle now a straight fight between themselves and the Irons.

Nuno Espirito Santo's men looked to have secured a last-gasp point against the title-chasing Gunners, but Callum Wilson's goal was disallowed by VAR following a foul on David Raya.

Spurs would have been breathing a huge sigh of relief after that, with Nottingham Forest and Leeds United now guaranteed survival.

The north Londoners now welcome Daniel Farke's side to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium knowing three points would take them to the 40-point mark, and leave West Ham needing to win their last two matches given their superior goal difference over their rivals.

Roberto De Zerbi's side come into the clash in good form too having won their last two away from home against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa, drawing the previous game to those against Brighton and Hove Albion in the capital.

De Zerbi Likely to Pick Unchanged Tottenham Team

Following such an impressive 2-1 win against Villa last time out and with many key players still unavailable through injury, it's difficult to see why De Zerbi would change his line-up against Leeds unless he has lost any of his players to illness or injury in recent days.

The back five picks itself right now with few other options and Guglielmo Vicario still yet to make his return to training.

It's a similar story in the frontline where the Italian has little to choose from beyond Randal Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel and Richarlison at the top end of the pitch.

Midfield is where De Zerbi does have more options, but it looks set to be more disappointment for one of the club's best players this season against Leeds.

Archie Gray Set for Leeds Heartbreak

Should De Zerbi choose to go unchanged in midfield, it will be more heartbreak for youngster Archie Gray.

It was only a few weeks ago that Gray was one of the first names on the Tottenham team-sheet, as he outperformed all of his senior teammates.

However, since starting De Zerbi's first match in charge against Sunderland, the 20-year-old has only played 33 minutes since and was an unused substitute against Wolves and Aston Villa.

Against the latter, not only did Gray see Conor Gallagher, Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur start ahead of him, but he also saw Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall come on as substitutes before him at Villa Park.

De Zerbi hasn't been shy in his praise for his midfield starters last time out, labelling Gallagher as being 'like a 12th man', saying he '100%' wants to sign Palhinha on a permanent deal, and waxing lyrical over Bentancur's importance.

The former Brighton boss confirmed prior to the game against Leeds that he believes Gray needs to nail down one position to progress, having played a few for Tottenham already.

While De Zerbi clearly rates him for the future and said he believes he will be a 'future Spurs captain', he is clearly favouring experience right now and that means Gray is set for heartbreak if he hoped to start against his former club on Monday night.

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