Ange Postecoglou gets it wrong as Rodrigo Bentancur starts for Tottenham v Everton
Ange Postecoglou could live to regret his decision to start Rodrigo Bentancur against Everton after the Tottenham midfielder’s disappointing performance against Brentford in the Premier League last time out.
Spurs have made the trip to Merseyside to take on Everton at Goodison Park as they look to record back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since mid-December.
They returned to the Premier League’s top four last time out with a 3-2 victory against Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday 31 January.
Richarlison made it seven goals in his last seven league games against the Bees and will be keen to make it eight in eight against his former employers.
Another three points would move Spurs level on points with their North London rivals Arsenal, who host league leaders Liverpool at the Emirates on Sunday 4 February.
James Maddison’s involvement is a big boost, as he makes his second start of the week following his return from an ankle injury.
However, Postecoglou has also named Rodrigo Bentancur in the starting lineup, which could come back to haunt the Australian.
Improvement needed
While the Uruguay international certainly remains one of the top midfielders at the club, his performance last time out suggested he is perhaps in need of a rest, with his efforts drawing criticism from Spurs expert John Wenham while he was in conversation with Tottenham News (2 February).
His showing against Brentford was so poor that the 26-year-old was axed at half-time.
As per Sofascore, throughout the 45 minutes he spent on the pitch, while he did manage one key pass, he only completed 84 per cent of his overall passes and failed to provide an accurate long ball forward from his one attempt.
Defensively he was not up to the pace of the game at all, as he won just one of his three ground duels and zero per cent of his aerial duels. He gave possession away seven times and didn’t manage to make a single tackle or interception before he was axed at the break.
However, there is no doubt that the former Juventus man possesses plenty of quality, and he will be looking to put things right against the Toffees.
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