There will be heightened interest in the Tottenham Uefa Conference League clash against Vitesse this week. The interest concerns the new man in the dugout – Antonio Conte. The Italian wins trophies everywhere he goes and Spurs fans will be hoping that he can do the same for a club that hasn’t won a trophy since 2008.
It will be interesting to see how Conte lines up the side for this one. Will he implement his playing style immediately? Or will he take the slow methodical approach? It’s hard to predict how they are going to line up, but I am going to take a stab at it.
Tottenham vs Vitesse FYIs:
Kick-off time: 9 PM GMT, 4 November, Thursday
Tottenham Team News: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Tottenham (LLLWL) Vitesse (WWWLW)
I am going to go for Antonio Conte’s favored 3-5-2 formation here. As has been speculated for quite some time now – a three-man defense could really suit this Spurs side. I think we are finally going to find out.
In goals, I think Gollini will continue his run as Conference League goalkeeper. Don’t be surprised if Hugo Lloris starts though. With the international break coming after this weekends league fixtures – Conte might want to go full strength in this one as well.
I am going for a three-man central defense. I think Eric Dier will anchor it with Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga on either side of him.
Providing the width as attacking wing-backs will be Sergio Reguilon on the left and Matt Doherty on the right. This could be a huge opportunity for Doherty. A good performance from him here could put him front and center of the managers thinking when it comes to filling this right wing-back spot permanently.
In the middle of the park, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will play as a deep-lying playmaker. He will dictate the play with Gio Lo Celso and Delle Alli ahead of him. I don’t think Lo Celso and Alli will be first-team choices going forwards, but they will likely get the nod in this match.
In attack, if history tells us anything, Antonio Conte likes to use a front two. This could be just the tonic to get Harry Kane back in form.
He has been nothing short of atrocious this season given the lofty standards he has set for himself in seasons past.
With that in mind, I am going full strength with the front two. I think the England captain will be paired with South Korean superstar Heung Min-Son. It’ll be interesting to see how they operate as a central pairing.
This is a huge match for Spurs. A loss will see them almost certainly eliminated from the UEFA Conference League. The fans will not want to see that – this is a winnable trophy and an in-form Spurs would be amongst the favorites to win it.