Ange Postecoglou to axe Brennan Johnson – Tottenham predicted XI v Chelsea
Ange Postecoglou could axe Brennan Johnson in six changes when Tottenham travel to Chelsea on Thursday.
Postecoglou is under serious pressure in North London, with Andoni Iraola the preferred choice to replace the Australian at Tottenham.
Considering Spurs’ position in the Premier League, it feels as though winning the UEFA Europa League might be the only way Postecoglou will have a chance of keeping his job.
Therefore, the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on 3 April likely isn’t considered as important behind the scenes as the Europa League quarter-final with Frankfurt at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday, 10 April.
However, a match with Chelsea is still important for the fans, and Postecoglou will want to build some momentum heading into the Europa League.
Therefore, the 59-year-old could name a relatively strong team as he makes wholesale changes from the 2-0 Premier League defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, 16 March.
Postecoglou to make six Tottenham changes v Chelsea
Guglielmo Vicario has reclaimed the number one position since returning from injury and will expect to start against Chelsea on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Djed Spence should keep his place but could move over to left-back, which would allow Pedro Porro to return in place of Destiny Udogie.
Cristian Romero made seven clearances, two interceptions and two tackles [Sofascore] before he was hooked against Fulham, and Postecoglou should look to start the centre-back alongside Micky van de Ven as both players aim to build up some fitness ahead of two crunch games with Frankfurt.
| Fixture | Date | Venue |
| Tottenham v Eintracht Frankfurt | 10 April | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium |
| Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham | 17 April | Deutsche Bank Park |
This would see Ben Davies make way in the second change, while Archie Gray and Yves Bissouma could drop to the bench in the third and fourth changes.
Bissouma put in a disastrous performance against Fulham, winning just two of his six ground duels and losing the one aerial duel he contested before he was replaced at half-time.
Gray and Bissouma are likely to make way for James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall, while Rodrigo Bentancur keeps his place.
Postecoglou to axe Johnson v Chelsea
Just like Bissouma, Johnson was a disaster at Craven Cottage.
The Welshman completed just 55 per cent of his passes, failed to provide an accurate cross into the box with his one attempt and gave the ball away eight times while succeeding with zero per cent of his attempted dirbbles before he too was dragged off at half-time.
With Dejan Kulusevski likely to miss out for Tottenham, Wilson Odobert could come in on the right, while Son Heung-min replaces Mathys Tel on the left, and Dominic Solanke once again starts up front.