With wins in both the Premier League and the Europa League already under their belt, Tottenham look to carry their good luck into the weekend, as they welcome QPR to White Hart Lane this Sunday. Given the new faces and the surprising absences found in Thursday night’s Europa League game against AEL Limassol, Pochettino has offered some insight into who might be in the starting eleven against their old manager’s side.
Goalkeeper
Having been deemed by many the announcer as one of the best keepers in the Premier League, it doesn’t look as if Hugo Lloris will be losing his starting spot anytime soon.
Defence
After a controversial call at West Ham, Kyle Naughton has been suspended for the QPR game, and with Kyle Walker still MIA, it looks as if Tottenham are at a loss for a right back. Lucky for them, their goal scorer at West Ham, Eric Dier, can easily slide over from center back to fill the position.
Making his first appearance of the season vs AEL Limassol, Jan Vertonghen looks set to return to the starting eleven at his usual center back position.
Following a week of rest, Younes Kaboul will step back into his typical role beside Vertonghen.
The battle between Ben Davies and Danny Rose for a starting position at left back has been an interesting one. After being slammed for a mediocre at best performance against West Ham, it wasn’t looking good for Rose. But despite this, he still has the reputation with the club, something which Davies may eventually steal from him, but for now, Danny Rose will be starting in Tottenham’s more important EPL games.
Midfield
The three central midfielders at the the core of Tottenham’s lineup will always be difficult to choose, because they have so many different midfielders and so many different potential combinations that might work. But I am still of the belief that Sandro should be starting in the more holding midfield role over Capoue. There is hope for him yet, as he made his first appearance on the bench at AEL Limassol, while he had not been present earlier vs West Ham.
Again, controversially, I am also going to stick to the idea of Mousa Dembele starting as another one of the midfielders. With his Belgian teammate, Vertonghen, making a comeback, and some playing time in Spurs’ Europa League game, it only seems fitting that he might return to the starting eleven.
The others seem relatively easy to pick; given that he has been amongst transfer rumors, Andros Townsend looks to be out of the running, and there are really only three more midfielders who can get the job done. Christian Eriksen as the third, much more attacking midfielder seems like an obvious choice, and one I would make any day.
Slightly to the right of center, the speedy Aaron Lennon will continue his run as a member of the club’s starting eleven.
Making all the difference in Tottenham’s Europa League game with two assists, Erik Lamela looks poised to start to the left of center for the foreseeable future.
Striker
Although Harry Kane and Roberto Soldado are coming into their own, Emmanuel Adebayor continues to deliver solid and exciting performances, making him Pochettino’s number one choice to start up top against QPR.
