da fazobetai： Tottenham Hotspur will look to move another step closer to securing Champions League qualification when they face the Premier League’s bottom side West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
da dobrowin： Spurs moved five points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea when they beat Watford 2-0 at Wembley on Monday night, and with the Blues having just nine points left to play for the north London outfit are closing in on securing a top-four finish.
Dele Alli and Harry Kane were on the score-sheet against the Hornets in what was a largely scrappy performance, but manager Mauricio Pochettino won’t care too much as long as they get the results that they need.
It certainly won’t be an easy task to get all three points against the Baggies despite their lowly position in the top flight standings, with the west Midlands outfit taking eight points from the last 12 available – including a 1-0 success against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Pochettino made one change from the FA Cup semi-final defeat against the Red Devils as Hugo Lloris replaced Michel Vorm between the sticks, but he could be considering making some more alterations – including some enforced ones – for the trip to the Hawthorns.
Here is how Tottenham must line up against West Brom, ahead of Hugo Lloris in goal…
With three Premier League matches to come in eight days – Newcastle United visit Wembley on Wednesday – Pochettino may well be considering a bit of rotation within his team.
That should include the back four for the trip to the Hawthorns, and while he must look to keep the faith with Kieran Trippier, who got an assist against Watford on Monday, Jan Vertonghen and Ben Davies, he should look to bring Toby Alderweireld into the backline in place of Davinson Sanchez.
The Belgian’s future is still firmly up in the air, but he has the quality and the right mentality to help his team to a vital win – as well as a clean sheet – against the Baggies.
Mousa Dembele and Eric Dier have been Pochettino’s first-choice central midfield partnership in 2018 so far, but the duo could be forced apart for the visit to the Hawthorns.
Dembele was taken off during the 2-0 win against Watford with an ankle problem, and it is touch and go whether he will be available for the trip to the west Midlands.
With his fitness not guaranteed, Pochettino shouldn’t take any risks on the Belgium international and should start the man who replaced him against the Hornets – Victor Wanyama – alongside Dier instead.
Pochettino has largely stuck with the same front four this season – and in 2018 in particular – with Christian Eriksen – whom Tottenham fans on Twitter are terrified could go after reported interest from PSG – Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min more often than not supporting Harry Kane up top.
However, Pochettino should look to rotate in the attacking midfield positions against West Brom, and while Alli and Eriksen – the former was assisted by the latter for his goal against Watford – should keep their spots in the starting XI, Erik Lamela should be given an opportunity to impress on the road in place of Son, who has fallen off of the boil in recent weeks.
That leaves Kane up top once again, and the England international will be hoping that his chances of snatching the Premier League Golden Boot off of Mo Salah aren’t quite over yet.
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