Ange Postecoglou gets it wrong as Dejan Kulusevski starts for Tottenham v Brentford
Ange Postecoglou could live to regret his decision to start Dejan Kulusevski against Brentford after the Swede’s disappointing performance against Manchester City in the FA Cup last time out.
Spurs will welcome London rivals Brentford to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they look to return to both winning and goalscoring ways.
They were knocked out of the FA Cup last time out, as Manchester City claimed a 1-0 win in North London (Friday 26 January) to advance to the fifth round of England’s oldest cup competition.
For the first time under Postecoglou, Spurs failed to get themselves on the scoresheet, and they will be looking to put that right against the Bees.
While the three points should be incentive enough, there will be extra motivation for the Spurs players in tonight’s London derby.
Following Aston Villa’s 3-1 loss to Newcastle United at Villa Park on Tuesday 30 January, a win would see Tottenham return to the Premier League’s top four.
James Maddison is making his first start since he was injured in the 4-1 home defeat against Chelsea on Monday 6 November, which will be a big boost for the home side.
However, Postecoglou has also named Kulusevski in the starting lineup, which could come back to haunt the Australian.
While the 23-year-old has been a key player for Spurs so far during the 2023/24 campaign, he didn’t look at his best last time out against City and might have benefited from a rest.
As per Sofascore, the Sweden international completed just 68 per cent of his passes and failed to provide an accurate cross into the box or long ball forward.
He was successful with just one of his three attempted dribbles, while he also struggled every so slightly defensively, winning just 60 per cent of his ground duels in addition to also being dribbled past once.
However, Kulusevski has turned up on plenty of occasions this season, so far scoring five goals and providing two assists in the Premier League, and by allowing him to start again, Postecoglou might be hoping that he can play himself back into form after a slight blip against City.
Hopefully, for the 58-year-old, it is not a decision he lives to regret.
In other Tottenham news, a pundit has admitted that he has changed his mind on one Spurs ace after a “shock” bid.
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