Tottenham Hotspur contest their fifth London derby of the season this Saturday afternoon when Crystal Palace visit White Hart Lane. Here’s the team we expect Mauricio Pochettino to select against the Eagles…
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Premier League Predictions: Arsenal To Stutter At Stoke, Chelsea To Cruise Past Newcastle, Man United To Outscore Southampton & Spurs To Punish Palace.
GK: Hugo Lloris
Made a couple of uncharacteristic errors in the 3-0 loss to Chelsea on Wednesday, but the Frenchman has been Tottenham’s best player by a mile this season, so there is no chance he will be dropped.
RB: Eric Dier
Kyle Naughton is doubtful, Kyle Walker is still unfit and Vlad Chiriches was awful at Chelsea, so Dier should get his 11th league start of the season.
LB: Danny Rose
Rose is back in contention, having missed Tottenham’s last four games with a rib injury.
CBs: Jan Vertonghen and Federico Fazio
Vertonghen and Fazio are likely to partner each other for a fourth consecutive league match, leaving club captain Younes Kaboul to warm the bench again.
CM: Nabil Bentaleb
The Algerian was Tottenham’s man of the match against Chelsea. His return from injury has given Pochettino a real boost.
CM: Paulinho
Ryan Mason has been a regular starter of late, but Paulinho has been weened back into the team recently with a number of substitute appearances. The Brazilian could be given a proper go against Palace, who may struggle to contain him.
AM: Nacer Chadli
Returned from injury as a sub at Chelsea. Looked in good shape, so should be fit to start.
AM: Christian Eriksen
The Dane, who opened the scoring in a 2-0 win in this fixture last season, seems to be getting back to his best. He’s netted twice in his last three appearances.
AM: Harry Kane
Kane continues to grow in confidence and he is quickly becoming undroppable. The only question is where to play him; up front or in the number 10 role? We expect it will be the latter against Palace.
ST: Roberto Soldado
Ended his eight-game scoreless run by bagging the winner against Everton last weekend, only to find himself dropped for the Chelsea defeat for tactical reasons. However, his confidence will still have been boosted and he will fancy his chances of striking again in front of his adoring fans.
