With all to still play for in the Group D of the Champions League, Tottenham Hotspur take on Marseille at the Orange Velodrome on Tuesday evening hoping to book their spot in the knockout rounds.
Antonio Conte’s side are one point clear at the top of the table, having picked up eight points from five games. Spurs’ matchday five encounter against Sporting CP was truly a Champions League spectacle after Harry Kane’s late winner was denied by VAR.
The Lilywhites channelled that strength in the Premier League at the weekend to dramatically win 3-2 against Bournemouth in the stoppage time at the Vitality Stadium after finding themselves 2-0 down, thus, ending their three-game winless run in all formats.
Richarlison is still out with a calf problem alongside Dejan Kulusevski, who has a niggling hamstring issue that has plagued him since the most recent international break.
Cristian Romero missed the game at Bournemouth with a calf problem, with Antonio Conte admitting before the game that the defender needs time off to fully recover. He should be fine for Tuesday’s crunch clash with Marseille, although the Argentinean was not spotted in training on Monday.
Goalkeeper
Antonio Conte will expect a big performance from Hugo Lloris in goal against Marseille. The French shot-stopper’s form has wavered in recent weeks, something he should be wary of and hope to address as quickly as possible.
Defence
Conte may cull a 3-5-2 setup after it failed to work at Bournemouth. So, reverting to a 3-4-2-1 formation seems ideal, with Eric Dier and Clement Lenglet guaranteed starters in central defence in the Tottenham lineup.
Cristian Romero is now doubtful after missing training on Monday, so Davinson Sanchez should join Dier and Lenglet in a three-man backline in the Tottenham lineup. The Spurs’ defence must keep their focus throughout the 90 minutes to keep an exciting Marseille attack at bay.
Emerson Royal, Japhet Tanganga and Ben Davies will offer cover for the defensive positions.
Midfield
Up ahead in midfield, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will form the double pivot with Rodrigo Bentancur, as the duo focuses on making life difficult for the opposition. Hojbjerg and Bentancur will need to make smart decisions on and off the ball in the centre of the park to try and disrupt Marseille’s rhythm.
Matt Doherty should likely get the nod over Emerson Royal at right wing-back in the Tottenham lineup, whereas Ivan Perisic will hope to put in a strong display from the left wing-back position.
Attack
Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura will occupy the two No.10 slots in the Tottenham lineup behind the main man, Harry Kane, who should carry most of the goal-scoring burden on his own up top.
If Son, Kane and Moura find their rhythm and start getting into promising positions, Marseille may have a long night in France.
In Bryan Gil, Oliver Skipp, Ryan Sessegnon and Yves Bissouma, Conte has players that can make an impact off the bench when called upon.
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