Tottenham Hotspur welcome Burnley to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday evening, looking to advance to the FA Cup fourth round.
The Lilywhites put together a strong run in the Premier League of late, accumulating 12 points from a possible 15 over the Christmas and New Year period. This has seen them climb up to fifth in the league table.
Ange Postecoglou’s side will now put their Premier League duties aside and concentrate on the FA Cup. Standing in front of them are Burnley, who were beaten 3-2 by Aston Villa at Villa Park last week.
Tottenham Team News
Tottenham trio Son Heung-min, Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma are all away on international duty, with the former joining South Korea for the Asian Cup and the latter two teaming up with Senegal and Mali respectively for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Ryan Sessegnon, James Maddison, Alfie Whiteman, Manor Solomon and Ivan Perisic are all out injured, while Alejo Veliz sustained a knock towards the end of the game against Bournemouth last weekend.
However, Spurs were boosted by the return of midfield duo Oliver Skipp and Rodrigo Bentancur in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth, with the latter surprisingly returning six weeks ahead of schedule after recovering from an ankle issue. Also, Dejan Kulusevski is available for selection again after serving a one-match ban last time out.
Predicted Tottenham lineup vs Burnley (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
Guglielmo Vicario could be given a breather on Friday night, so back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster gets some game time and a chance to impress in the FA Cup tie against Burnley.
Defence
With Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven out, Eric Dier will be hoping to force his way into the first XI. He could partner Ben Davies in central defence, while Emerson Royal gets the nod ahead of Pedro Porro at right-back. Meanwhile, Destiny Udogie is a certainty to keep his place at left-back.
Ange Postecoglou will hope the Spurs defence holds their own and keeps a clean sheet against Burnley.
Midfield
Having managed to shake off a knock to feature as a substitute in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve, Oliver Skipp will be pushing for a rare start. Rodrigo Bentancur surprisingly started in the same match, returning six weeks ahead of schedule following an ankle injury. The Uruguayan will be in contention to feature against Vincent Kompany’s side, although Postecoglou may look to manage his minutes after injury, so Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could partner Skipp in the middle of the park.
Dejan Kulusevski should walk straight back into Postecoglou’s starting XI after serving a one-game ban, and the Swede’s presence could be key in unlocking the Burnley defence.
Attack
Brennan Johnson should keep his place on the right flank intact after impressing against Bournemouth. Son Heung-min leaving for the Asian Cup commitments with South Korea could open the door for Bryan Gil to impress on the left wing.
Richarlison will complete the Spurs attack, and having netted five goals in the last five league games, he should be confident of getting himself on the scoresheet against Burnley.