Antonio Conte will have his fingers crossed that Tottenham’s record of bouncing back from defeats in 2022 carries on when Everton travel to the capital on Monday evening.
Victorious at Leeds United one week ago with a 4-0 triumph at Elland Road, Spurs then followed it up with a 1-0 defeat against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
The Lilywhites are very much still in the top-four race with 13 league games remaining but fixing their consistency issue will be key to whether or not they are in Champions League action next campaign.
Needing the points to put pressure on their top-four rivals, Everton, on the other hand, desperately need a victory to help move away from the relegation zone.
So who exactly will the Spurs boss select in his team to face Frank Lampard’s men? We asked our Tottenham correspondents Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest to name the teams they expect to see Conte put out in N17.
Here are their selections:
Alasdair Gold – Tottenham Hotspur correspondent
Picking the same starting XI has not been a good thing for Conte in recent weeks. When he went with unchanged teams to face Burnley and Middlesbrough, the players ensured it backfired on him.
Conte needs Rodrigo Bentancur back and the Uruguayan will likely start the match in the middle, replacing one of the midfield duo that struggled at the Riverside Stadium.
Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga remain out injured but Lucas Moura is back and that presents one decision for Conte.
Does he bring the Brazilian’s pace back into the team, if he’s fit enough to start, or does he stick with Dejan Kulusevski, who has been one of Spurs’ most creative players in recent weeks but looked like he was tiring on Tuesday night?
The six days between the matches could help swing the decision in the Swede’s favour.
(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Elsewhere, Conte appeared to hint to football.london that he will stick with Ryan Sessegnon at left wing-back and that Sergio Reguilon will have to win his place back after suffering a few after-effects from his bout of Covid.
Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal will battle for the spot on the other flank but the latter did himself no favours with his cameo from the bench in the FA Cup tie.
Gold’s team: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Doherty, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son.
Rob Guest – Tottenham Hotspur reporter
Antonio Conte needs to make changes to his Tottenham XI after Tuesday’s FA Cup defeat against Middlesbrough, but there are perhaps only a couple of players who could come into his plans vs Everton.
Likely to keep faith with his favoured back three unless he wants to spring a surprise there, Sergio Reguilon could potentially regain his place in the team instead of Ryan Sessegnon.
The head coach could also think about handing Emerson Royal a start but Matt Doherty is the better option there at present.
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One player who should definitely come in is Rodrigo Bentancur following his return from injury, with Harry Winks the player to make way.
Lucas Moura is also another option to consider as he is fit to play again, but it would be harsh to drop Dejan Kulusevski and it’s hard to see the Italian dropping Son Heung-min despite his struggles in midweek.
Guest’s team: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Doherty, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Reguilon; Kulusevski, Kane, Son