By James Cormack
Tottenham Hotspur's resurgence arrived too late in Sunday's North London Derby, and Ange Postecoglou's side now face an uphill battle to secure a top-four spot.
Spurs conceded their goals from positions of strength and oddly scored when the derby seemed to be getting away from them. Their 3-2 defeat further emboldened Arsenal's title charge all while hindering their own end-of-season ambitions.
There is some debate as to whether a Champions League spot would be optimal for Postecoglou at this premature stage of his Lilywhite rebuild, but there's no denying every supporter's desire to beat London rivals Chelsea, coached by former boss Mauricio Pochettino.
It hasn't exactly been a prosperous period for the north Londoners, but a rare victory at Stamford Bridge would undoubtedly perk up a inherently pessimistic fanbase that's harshly questioning Postecoglou's capacity to lead the club into a new dawn.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-3-3)
GK: Guglielmo Vicario - For their own sake, Tottenham better protect their goalkeeper from set-pieces and learn their North London Derby lesson fast.
RB: Pedro Porro - Porro was an injury doubt heading into Sunday's defeat, but the Spaniard played the entirety of the derby and there were no concerns post-match.
CB: Cristian Romero - Postecoglou waxed lyrical over his centre-back after the North London Derby, and rightly so. Romero was outstanding at the weekend and he's put together a tremendous campaign.
CB: Micky van de Ven - The Dutchman single-handedly stopped Arsenal from breaking away on the counter in the second half last time out. Van de Ven's recovery speed truly is a cheat code of an attribute.
LB: Ben Davies - Davies may have surrendered too much space to Bukayo Saka which led to Arsenal's second at the weekend, but with Destiny Udogie crocked, there's little alternative.
CM: Yves Bissouma - Rodrigo Bentancur will be considered for the holding role, but Bissouma is likely to replace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
CM: Pape Matar Sarr - Sarr's reduction in prominence in recent weeks has hindered Spurs. He needs to be back in the team.
CM: Dejan Kulusevski - Kulusevski was excellent on Sunday and deserves to retain his place. James Maddison's struggles mean the Swede could take up a midfield position.
RW: Brennan Johnson - If Kulusevski does drift into a central role, the productive Johnson is a shoo-in to start down the right.
ST: Richarlison - Spurs missed Richarlison's physicality against a stubborn Arsenal backline last time out. The Brazilian has been dealing with a couple of niggles since the March break, but he should be fit for a return to the team on Thursday.
LW: Son Heung-min - Son had more success out wide in the derby, and Richarlison's inclusion combined with Timo Werner's absence means we should see the Spurs skipper function wide left at Stamford Bridge.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Tottenham predicted lineup vs Chelsea - Premier League.
