Tottenham XI v Manchester City: Ange Postecoglou to axe Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
Spurs will host Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday 26 January.
With the likes of lower league outfits such as Maidstone United, Newport County and Wrexham still left in the competition, most of Spurs’ supporters will feel hard done by that they must face last season’s FA Cup winners this early in the tournament.
Key players such as Son Heung-min, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr are currently unavailable for selection while they compete with their nations at the AFC Asian Cup and African Cup of Nations, which makes Ange Postecoglou’s team selection much trickier.
However, Pep Guardiola’s side are yet to score at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their previous five visits, and everyone involved will know that this is a cup tie that could go either way.
Therefore, as difficult as Postecoglou’s team selection might be, he must ensure that he gets it spot on if he wants to give his side the best chance of advancing to the fifth round of England’s oldest cup competition.
Guglielmo Vicario will be expected to start between the sticks on Friday. While managers often rotate their goalkeepers for cup fixtures, Postecoglou opted not to do this in the third round against Burnley (5 January), which proved to be a quiet evening for the Italian as he made just one save, one high claim and completed 86 per cent of his passes in the 1-0 victory (Sofascore).
Pedro Porro’s stunner was the match-winner against Burnley and he should start at right-back, with Destiny Udogie expected to start on the opposite flank. Udogie was impressive in Spurs’ 2-2 draw away against Manchester United (14 January), with the 21-year-old completing 90 per cent of his passes, making five tackles, three interceptions and winning seven of his 11 ground duels.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven will likely be the back two, with the first-choice duo starting alongside each other for the first time in over two months against United.
Rodrigo Bentancur will expect to continue in midfield after his goalscoring display at Old Trafford where he also completed 84 per cent of his passes and played five accurate long balls forward, while Skipp could feature alongside him.
Skipp impressed against United as he completed 93 per cent of his passes, with three of those key, while he also made one tackle and one interception. Dejan Kulusevski was unavailable for the draw with Erik ten Hag’s men and will likely be recalled to replace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and feature in the creative role behind the front three.
Hojbjerg struggled last time out as he was dribbled past three times, won just two of his nine ground duels, and completed zero per cent of his dribbles or crosses into the box.
Richarlison will be expected to lead the line again after scoring his sixth goal in seven games against the Red Devils, and Brennan Johnson could start on the right despite his afternoon to forget at Old Trafford, where he succeded with just one of his five dribble attempts.
Timo Werner is likely to continue on the left as he looks to build on his impressive debut for Spurs, which saw him grab the assist for Benatcnur’s equaliser just 50 seconds into the second half.
In other Tottenham news, Postecoglou will be relieved after one of his stars looked back to his best while on international duty.
For more exclusive Tottenham updates, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.