Tottenham XI v Wolves: Ange Postecoglou to drop axe in four changes
Tottenham will look to record back-to-back wins for the first time since mid-December when they host Wolves on Saturday 17 February.
Spurs will welcome Gary O’Neil’s side to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend as they look to record their sixth consecutive home Premier League win.
Ange Postecoglou’s side returned to the top four last time out with a 2-1 victory over Brighton in North London on Saturday 10 February, thanks to a last-gasp Brennan Johnson winner.
They are currently one point above Aston Villa in fifth and six clear of Manchester United in sixth with the race for UEFA Champions League football incredibly tight.
Wolves scored two late goals to win 2-1 at Molineux in the reverse fixture this season (11 November) and Spurs will be keen to exact revenge in front of their own supporters.
Postecoglou was without several key players that day, and with the majority of his first-team stars now available for selection once again, the Australian must ensure he gets his team selection spot on.
Tottenham to make four changes for clash with Wolves
Guglielmo Vicario has come under fire in recent weeks after some high-profile mistakes, but he looked much more confident against the Seagulls as he made two big saves from inside the box, preventing 1.10 goals in the process (Sofascore), and the Italian will expect to keep his place on Saturday.
Pedro Porro will likely continue at right-back despite a poor performance against Brighton, with the Spaniard failing to provide an accurate cross into the box from eight attempts, winning just 50 per cent of his ground duels, completing only 73 per cent of his passes and being dribbled past twice.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero should be the pairing in central defence, although the former had one of his worst performances in a Spurs shirt last time out as he gave away a penalty, was dribbled past once and won just one of his four ground duels.
There are doubts over Destiny Udogie’s fitness after he was nowhere to be seen in Spurs training on Wednesday 14 February, and Ben Davies might be called upon to deputise for the 21-year-old. Davies came off the bench and failed to impress last time out as he was dribbled past once and lost his one-ground duel during his 18-minute spell on the pitch.
In midfield, Pape Matar Sarr will expect to keep his place after his goalscoring display against Roberto De Zerbi’s side while Yves Bissouma could replace Rodrigo Bentancur, with the Uruguay international struggling against Brighton as he was dribbled past twice and completed just 82 per cent of his passes.
Bissouma returned to action for Spurs for the first time in almost two months last time out and completed 100 per cent of his passes from the bench. Meanwhile, James Maddison will expect to continue in the number ten role behind the front three after he completed three key passes and created one big chance against Brighton.
Johnson stepped off the bench to score the winner last time out and could be offered the opportunity to start from the beginning in place of Dejan Kulusevski on the right after the Swede completed just 20 per cent of his crosses into the box, 72 per cent of his passes and missed one big chance against De Zerbi’s side.
Son Heung-min grabbed an assist for Johnson on his return to North London following the AFC Asian Cup and will be expected to reclaim his place on the left.
Finally, Richarlison should start through the middle. Although he wasn’t able to continue his incredible goalscoring run against Brighton he did play three key passes and create one big chance.
In other Tottenham news, one “incredible” Wolves forward won’t be available to feature against Spurs this weekend.
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