Tottenham Hotspur stadium has become somewhat of a fortress since Italian mastermind Antonio Conte took over in the Spurs dugout. After the humiliation at the hands of Slovenian mid-table side on the last matchday in the Conference League, the Italian and his charges will want to set the record straight as they look to avoid the embarrassment of a group stage exit in Europe’s third-tier club competition.
Things will not be easy as a COVID outbreak has allegedly ravaged the North London-based team. There has been no official announcement regarding which players succumbed to the disease, but the rumors are running wild that Conte might have to place his trust in the players who so spectacularly let him down in Slovenia.
Tottenham vs Rennes FYIs
Kick-off time: 8 PM GMT, 9th December 2021
Tottenham Team News: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Tottenham (DWLWW) Rennes (WDWLW)
I’ll lay off of you now Tottenham fans. I am sure you are all sick of hearing about what happened on matchday 5 in the Conference League, so I’ll move on to what you all came here for.
Me, my crystal ball, and the starting XI predictions for Tottenham Hotspur as they take on Rennes.
Pierluigi Gollini will probably start in goals. The Italian hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with his form when called upon by Spurs, but he is a capable set of hands and will look to silence the doubters with a solid performance here.
I think the three-man defense will be the way forward in this game. Despite their terrible performances collectively against NS Mura (sorry last time, I promise) I think Conte might give the same trio a chance to redeem themselves.
Therefore, I am going for Joe Rodon anchoring with Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga playing on either side of him.
Likewise for Matt Doherty. Despite former Spurs players calling for him to never wear the shirt again, I think he deserves at least one last chance to show what he can do.
I still think he can be a success playing in Antonio Conte’s system.
At left wing-back, we will see Ben Davies revert to a more natural role. He can kick on in attack and is solid as a rock defensively, so I am fairly confident with this selection.
If they are not a part of the ‘Tottenham 6,’ I think Oliver Skipp and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg will play in the center of midfield. They are unquestionably the first choice in their positions and whether they start will be a good indicator of how high the Conference League is on Conte’s priorities this season.
I could say the same about the attack. I think Conte will go full strength; even if they don’t see out the entire 90 minutes. So that means Lucas Moura & Heung Min-Son will flank Harry Kane in the attack.
If Spurs do get a couple of early goals, the smart money says that none of these three play more than an hour.
In the unlikely event that this is the side that Spurs puts out there – they should have no trouble beating the French side. Given that we don’t know all the names who will miss out due to COVID, that seems unlikely.
I think Rennes will steal a draw and Tottenham will go out of European competition for 2021/22.