Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur face a crunch clash against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Tottenham head into the game five points behind fourth-placed Villa, albeit with a game in hand. A defeat at Villa Park would see Spurs fall eight points off the pace in the race for a top-four finish.
The north Londoners picked up a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace last time out, with Ange Postecoglou’s men coming from behind at home.
Postecoglou’s changes proved to be key on the day as Brennan Johnson came off the bench to grab two assists.
This could lead to a start for the 22-year-old on Sunday, with Rodrigo Bentancur dropping to the bench and Dejan Kulusevski moving into midfield.
Tottenham predicted XI vs Aston Villa
Guglielmo Vicario looks set to continue between the sticks and the back four could also remain unchanged.
Pedro Porro missed out on the win over Palace, as well as the defeat to Wolves, and it remains unclear whether or not he will be fit enough to feature.
That would mean Emerson Royal continuing at right-back, with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie making up the back four.
Yves Bissouma is likely to continue at the base of midfield, with Rodrigo Bentancur struggling for form in recent weeks.
Bentancur played in the box-to-box role against Palace amid concerns over Pape Matar Sarr’s fitness. But the £19 million man was replaced by Johnson just after the hour mark.
This led to Postecoglou moving Kulusevski into midfield, alongside James Maddison and Bissouma.
While naming this midfield three away to Villa would be risky, it could help Tottenham expose Villa’s high defensive line.
Indeed, with a front three of Heung-min Son, Timo Werner and Johnson, Spurs would boast considerable pace up front.
Johnson was exceptional on Saturday and in our view, the ‘phenomenal’ winger deserves a chance to impress from the off at Villa Park.
Here is our Tottenham predicted XI for the clash against Villa in full.
The post Ange Postecoglou drops £19m man and starts ‘phenomenal’ player: Early Tottenham XI vs Aston Villa appeared first on TBR Football.