Tottenham Hotspur will hope to bounce back to winning ways in the Champions League on Wednesday evening when they welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs have failed to collect the maximum points in the last two European games, losing 2-0 to Sporting CP and drawing 0-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively. They are tied with Frankfurt on four points in Group D, with Antonio Conte’s side just above the German club on goal difference.
Thus, Conte knows the importance of winning the upcoming Champions League tie in front of their supporters at home.
Tottenham have received a timely injury boost, as Dejan Kulusevski returned to squad training on Tuesday. Kulusevski has been missing since returning from last month’s internationals with a hamstring injury, but his return to training suggests the Swede could be fit to return against Frankfurt or in Saturday’s home game against Everton.
Lucas Moura, who Conte said would be out for some time with a tendon problem last week, was a surprise sighting in training while Japhet Tanganga also returned having missed the last couple of games through injury.
Plus, Conte feels the late blow Harry Kane received to his ankle against Brighton that forced him off late at the Amex Stadium is not serious.
Goalkeeper
Hugo Lloris will operate in goal and will be hoping to shut up shop as quickly as possible against the German opponents.
Defence
Antonio Conte could opt for a back three of Cristian Romero, Eric Dier and Clement Lenglet in the Tottenham lineup for this game as they try to keep the opposition at bay throughout 90 minutes. This means Ben Davies will drop to the bench having played the entire game in the 1-0 win over Brighton.
Midfield
Conte used 3-5-2 against Brighton, adding more muscle to his midfield by handing Yves Bissouma his first start of the season. However, he could revert to the 3-4-2-1 system and leave Bissouma out on the bench against Frankfurt, thereby, retaining his tried and tested double pivot of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur in the Tottenham lineup.
Hojbjerg and Bentancur will be tasked with cutting the supplying lines in midfield while controlling the flow of the game in midweek. Matt Doherty did well at right wing-back against Brighton and could be rewarded with another start in the Tottenham lineup, while Ivan Perisic comes in for Ryan Sessegnon at left wing-back.
Emerson Royal is also a strong contender for the right wing-back role as he is serving a domestic suspension.
Attack
Harry Kane will lead the charge alongside Son Heung-min and Richarlison in the attacking third of the pitch for Spurs. The front three of Kane, Son and Richarlison will need to be sharp in front of the opponent’s goal if the north Londoners are to have any chance of securing points from this home tie.
If deemed fully fit, Dejan Kulusevski could be named on the bench against Frankfurt.
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