After a miserable 10 days or so, Tottenham Hotspur will want to bounce back when they take on Watford at home tonight.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side saw their domestic cup hopes disappear as they were first knocked out of the EFL Cup and then the FA Cup in the span of just days.
Spurs do have an opportunity to close the gap on Manchester City as the Sky Blues were beaten by Newcastle United on Tuesday.
With the title pretty much out of reach, Tottenham need to strengthen their position in the top three.
The absence of several first-team stars has made Pochettino’s job a lot harder as the north Londoners have missed the likes of Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son in recent games.
The positive news is Son is back after South Korea were unexpectedly knocked out of the Asia Cup. The former Hamburg man’s return ahead of time is a huge boost, but it remains to be seen if he is in peak condition having played a lot of games in January already.
Pochettino won’t be able to use Ben Davies, while Mousa Sissoko might make his return after sustaining a knock against Chelsea last week.
Defence
Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld are thankfully fit and should start at the heart of the defence. The duo of Danny Rose and Serge Aurier could line up as the full-backs. Hugo Lloris should start in goal.
Midfield
Harry Winks has stepped up in recent weeks and has done a commendable job for a player of his age. The 22-year old is expected to start alongside Eric Dier in the midfield pivot, in front of the defence.
With Dele Alli unavailable, we expect Christian Eriksen to be deployed in the number 1-0 role. Eriksen has managed 1.8 key passes per game in the Premier League this season, and his creativity will be key tonight.
Attack
Erik Lamela is expected to start on the right, and the Argentine needs to step up. The same can be said of Fernando Llorente, who needs to make use of use opportunities.
A lot will be expected of Son tonight, even though the South Korean has just returned after representing his national team.
Llorente
Son – Eriksen – Lamela
Winks – Dier
Rose – Alderweireld – Vertonghen – Aurier
Lloris
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