Tottenham will visit Stoke City for the quarter finals of the EFL cup on Wednesday and Jose Mourinho is expected to make plenty of changes.
Spurs had a week to forget in the Premier League as they lost two games in a row. But this is a different competition entirely, and a win here would put them in the semi-finals and that’s just one step closer to winning a trophy.
There are a couple of injury concerns for the North Londoners with both Erik Lamela and Japhet Tanganga set to miss out on the game. Another player who might not play on Wednesday is Giovani Lo Celso who was substituted against Leicester at the weekend.
Spurs are going to stick with their 4-2-3-1 formation but there are likely to be many changes. Joe Hart will come in for Hugo Lloris in goal and the defence will have a new look to it.
Matt Doherty and Ben Davies will be the full backs. The Irishman will want to stake a claim for more regular action, and this will be the game to do that. In the centre, we will get to see a new duo in Davinson Sanchez and Joe Rodon.
Moussa Sissoko is going to be given a night off with Harry Winks coming in for him. The Englishman will be relied upon to provide some incisive passes.
He will be partnered with either Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg or Tanguy Ndombele, with the Dane being the more likely option.
Dele Alli will get a chance to feature in the team as the most advanced midfielder. And on the wings, we will have Gareth Bale on the right and Lucas on the left. These two will cause Stoke the most problems with their pace and skill on the ball. If they click, Spurs will easily get the win and move on to the next round.
Carlos Vinicius will start as the centre forward giving Harry Kane a rest. He will have a lot of chances given the creative talent that is behind him. Tottenham will get a badly needed boost of confidence if they get the win. But it may not be very easy as Stoke will indeed put up a good fight.
Predicted Tottenham Starting XI Against Stoke City (4-2-3-1):
Joe Hart, Matt Doherty, Davinson Sanchez, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Harry Winks, Gareth Bale, Dele Alli, Lucas, Carlos Vinicius