Following the club’s summer transfer activity, Antonio Conte has more options for his Tottenham team this weekend. Spurs were forced to name a few young players off the bench in the final weeks due to injuries, which made it clear that they needed to strengthen the roster before the transfer deadline.
Blow for Southampton
Hasenhuttl stated that neither Tella nor Walcott would be taking part in the action versus Tottenham during his pre-game press conference on Thursday. He said, as cited on Southampton’s official website:
Theo Walcott has not yet participated in preseason. He has not yet resumed training.
“Nathan Tella was also out with an injury for a short period of time; he was just training today, so he won’t be available for the weekend.”
Fraser Forster, Clement Lenglet, Djed Spence, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma, and Richarlison are the six new recruits that have so far entered through the door. Richarlison is suspended for Saturday’s opening against Southampton, meaning Tottenham fans will have to wait another week to see him play.
Update on Hasenhuttl’s injuries
Oliver Skipp, a midfielder who suffered a hairline fracture in his heel prior to the Rangers friendly, will also be unavailable to Conte this weekend. The ability of Bissouma to take his position in the matchday squad is then in doubt after suffering a minor hamstring strain during the friendly match against Roma last Saturday.
What will the Tottenham team versus Southampton look like under Conte? Football. london looks at his starting lineup and bench of substitutes.
Beginning XI
With a few players not yet at top shape, the Spurs manager’s strongest XI essentially chooses itself, leaving him with little decisions to make. Hugo Lloris will start in goal for Tottenham, and Conte will then decide who his left-sided center-back will be.
It is debatable whether Ben Davies is fit enough to start despite his comeback to the matchday squad following his ankle injury from last week’s match against Roma. If not, Clement Lenglet will join Eric Dier and Cristian Romero in the backline and play.
The wing-back positions thus appear to be filled by Emerson Royal and Ryan Sessegnon, especially because Matt Doherty and Ivan Perisic are still recovering from their individual injuries sustained at the close of the previous season. Because of Bissouma and Skipp’s problems in the middle of the field, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur will continue to play there.
Dejan Kulusevski, Harry Kane, and Son Heung-min launch an assault as the front three.
Lloris, Romero, Dier, Davies, Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon, Kulusevski, Kane, and Son make up the starting XI.
Substitutes’ bench
Much of the bench is selected by itself for the opening game of the new season, as is the case with the starting XI. Forster has been hired as Lloris’ replacement and will start for his new team’s first Premier League game in the starting lineup.
The center-backs chosen for the bench will be Davinson Sanchez and either Lenglet or Davies, with Perisic as a backup option since he doesn’t yet appear to be totally fit for the starting lineup. If healthy, Bissouma will provide backup for Hojbjerg and Bentancur, as will Pape Matar Sarr, who recently joined the team after spending last season on loan with Metz.
Lucas Moura may be the sole pure attacking option on the bench unless Conte chooses Bryan Gil, although Perisic may play farther forward if necessary. That could all rely on the head coach’s future plans because the Spaniard could very easily move out on loan once more if he isn’t in Conte’s plans.
Since seven of the nine positions are already filled, the competition for the other two may be between Doherty, Spence, and Gil. It may all come down to whether Conte wants two right wingbacks or one more offensive option on the bench.
If the former, one of Doherty or Spence will be left off the team and will stand with Japhet Tanganga and Harvey White.
To be used as substitutes: Forster, Lenglet, Sanchez, Doherty, Spence, Perisic, Bissouma, Sarr, and Lucas
The Final Word: Trying to start strong
Given that Walcott has regularly been connected with a Saints exit for the majority of the window, his exclusion from the competition shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. This could indicate that he will likely be leaving before September 1.
On the other side, Tella won’t be put at unnecessary risk given that the talented youngster also dealt with some injury concerns last season, so they won’t have his direct threat on Saturday.
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