Tottenham will be aiming to book their spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup when they travel to Deepdale to take on Preston North End on Saturday night.
Spurs edged past Portsmouth 1-0 in the last round of the competition, with Harry Kane’s second-half goal proving to be the difference between the two sides. They managed to bounce back to winning ways in the Premier League from the 4-2 defeat to Manchester City away, winning 1-0 at Fulham on Monday evening.
Antonio Conte would have been pleased to watch his side return back to winning ways and he will want to build on that performance with a victory against Preston.
Tottenham Team News
Lucas Moura continues to struggle with a tendon problem, and as a result, he remains unavailable for selection. Bryan Gil was again missing against Fulham on Monday due to a knock but he could return to the squad for the weekend’s cup tie with Preston.
Predicted Tottenham Lineup vs Preston (3-4-2-1)
Goalkeeper
Fraser Forster started in goal during Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Portsmouth in the last round of the FA Cup. Thus, he is expected to be recalled in goal on Saturday, with Hugo Lloris dropping down to the bench for the cup tie.
Defence
Antonio Conte could ring changes to his defence and give a couple of his fringe players an opportunity to impress. Davinson Sanchez and Clement Lenglet could come in for Cristian Romero and Eric Dier as changes, with Ben Davies keeping his place intact in the three-man Spurs backline.
The trio of Sanchez, Lenglet and Davies have to keep their focus throughout the 90 minutes to keep the Preston forwards quiet at the weekend.
Midfield
Emerson Royal and Ivan Perisic played the full 90 minutes in the win over Fulham, so Conte could freshen up his wing-back options by handing starts to Matt Doherty and Ryan Sessegnon at Preston. The Spurs boss will ask both Doherty and Sessegnon to work hard and try pinning back the Preston wing-backs as much as possible.
Rodrigo Bentancur is expected to be rested after recently returning from injury, so Yves Bissouma could replace the Uruguayan in the middle of the park. Bissouma will look to take control of the game alongside Pape Sarr in midfield, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg dropping down to the bench against Preston.
Attack
Harry Kane’s goal helped Spurs register a win over Fulham on Monday, and there is no chance Conte leaves his ace striker out of the starting XI at Deepdale. He will lead the attacking pack, with Richarlison and Son Heung-min operating as playmakers behind the England international.
Spurs will look to manage Dejan Kulusevski’s fitness as he has recently returned from injury, so the Swede should be among the substitutes at the weekend.