Tottenham kick off the start of a hectic next few weeks as they travel to Florence to take on Serie A side Fiorentina in the Europa League round of 32.
Fiorentina knocked Spurs out of the Europa League last season, but a lot has changed in the past year. Manager Mauricio Pochettino has transformed the squad. They’ve have been on an excellent run form and are just two point off of first place Leicester City. Fiorentina are also on an excellent run of form, having not lost a match in their last five. The key player for manager Paulo Sousa will be Serbian international Josep Illicic. Spurs will have to watch him closely as he can make things happen and control a match if he’s given space.
Spurs midfield depth will be key in the upcoming weeks as players like Eric Dier and Mousa Dembélé are just a couple of a few that need rest. Some say that the Premier League should be Pochettino’s first priority, which I believe it is. That doesn’t mean that Spurs should throw out a reserve sides for the Europa and FA Cup fixtures though. That’s also not Poch’s style. If he deems the top players fit to play, then they’ll play.
With that being said here’s the lineup I think Poch will be going with.
Goalie
Michel Vorm – Vorm was probably going to get the start regardless, but since Hugo Lloris won’t be available after picking up an injury in the Manchester City game, Vorm will be in net.
Defence
Poch’s been sticking with alternating between the fullbacks so since Kyle Walker and Danny Rose started last match, Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies will get the nod tomorrow. Now here’s where things get interesting.
American youngster Cameron Carter Vickers was brought along by Pochettino to Florence so the youngster could get the start tomorrow if Poch decides to rest Alderweireld. However I think Alderweireld will start again tomorrow. The Belgian will once again be paired alongside Kevin Wimmer, who is coming off an excellent performance against Man City.
Midfield
Dier will once again be the holding midfielder instead of Nabil Bentaleb. Reports have come in that Bentaleb is frustrated with the lack of playing time yet the last match he played in he didn’t do anything to convince Pochettino that he deserves to be considered for the first team.
So Bentaleb will be on the bench. Mousa Dembélé will get some rest and youngster Tom Carroll will start in the centre midfield. Ryan Mason is available for selection but I don’t think Poch will just throw him back into the lineup so quickly. Look for him to come on as a substitute however.
The attacking midfield will likely see some changes as well as Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen will be on the bench and Josh Onomah and Nacer Chadli will be inserted into the lineup. Onomah will be at the No. 10 position and Chadli will be to his left. To Onomah’s right will be Erik Lamela who showed he can completely change a game when he came on and played an intricate part in Tottenham’s game winning goal against Manchester City.
Attack
Harry Kane will get some well deserved and well needed rest as Son Heung-Min will be the lone striker tomorrow. Son proved that he can play in the No. 9 position during a match against Leicester City in the FA Cup when he scored a brilliant goal and assisted another.
I believe that Tottenham will take the first leg of this matchup. What do you guys think the lineup and result will be?
(4-2-3-1)
Via – Lineup Builder
