The mood was somber in north London heading into the previous international break, and Ange Postecoglou will be keen to avoid a repeat of that this month when Tottenham Hotspur take on Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Spurs’ collapse at Brighton in October ensured fans watched two weeks of international football with clenched fists. However, the Lilywhites have enjoyed a positive run since Postecoglou enjoyed his best week on the job as his team Manchester City fell i Aston Villa in a few days.
They head into Sunday’s home game from the back of one Defeat by 3-2 at Galatasaray which could have been much worse. Very few of that rotating XI would have left an impression on the manager, who will once again write on the team selection front when Ipswich come to town.
Here’s how Tottenham could line up.
GK: William Vicar – The Italian may not be perfect, but he’s 2002 Gianluigi Buffon compared to Fraser Forster. Spurs cannot afford an absence from Vicario.
RB: Pedro Porro – It was a punishing evening for Porro in Istanbul, but he is a spirited character who will respond in a hurry. His place in the team is not up for debate.
CB: Cristian Romero – Romero is a doubt for Sunday’s game due to the foot injury he picked up last weekend, but he has been included in Argentina’s squad for the next few games and Postecoglou has said he expects his vice-captain to be available against Ipswich.
CB: Radu Dragusin – If he punished Porro on Thursday, it was Drasgusin’s worst nightmare. With Micky van de Ven out, the Romanian initially mitigated his absence well, but his performance was so poor in midweek that some supporters may prefer Ben Davies to join Romero.
LB: Destiny Udogie – The Italy international finally earned some breathing room during the week, and perhaps for the first time this season, Udogie will go into a game fresh.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – Bentancur is winning the midfield tug-of-war with Yves Bissouma, who did not disgrace himself against Gala. However, the Uruguayan midfielder has been in excellent form, and his place on the bench last time out suggests he will start here.
CM: Papa Matar Sarr – The relentless midfielder produced one of his best performances in a spurs shirt last weekend against Aston Villa and is a move to start on Sunday with James Maddison struggling in midweek. Sarr is the key stabilizer in the middle of the park.
CM: Dejan Kulusevski – Spurs’ standout performer of the season so far has wrested primary creator duties from Maddison and has become an unmissable figure in Ange’s framework.
RW: Brennan Johnson – The Welshman has played a lot of football this season due to Spurs’ injuries in wide areas, and is likely to start again on Sunday after registering an assist in Istanbul. Johnson ignited his team’s comeback last weekend with a goal from close range.
ST: Dominic Solanke – Solanke’s impact in the U17 has been immediate without scoring a ton of goals, but he goes into Sunday’s game having scored three in his previous two outings.
LW: Son Heung-min – Postecoglou is carefully managing his captain, who has battled some problems over the past month. The South Korean hasn’t been at his best this term, but he consistently shows flashes of brilliance.
