Postecoglou to axe out midfielder after zero contribution this period

After defeating Newcastle United 4-1 in the Premier League on Friday, December 15, Tottenham will aim to win two straight games when they visit Nottingham Forest.

Spurs defeated Eddie Howe’s team convincingly at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday to earn their first three points in the Premier League since October, snapping a five-game losing streak.

After a run of five games without a victory, they will now go to the East Midlands full of confidence as they get ready to take on a Nottingham Forest team who are deficient in that area as well.

Nevertheless, Ange Postecoglou will understand that this is by no means a free pass and will therefore need to get his squad selection spot on. Steve Cooper’s club was only able to defeat high-flying Aston Villa at the City Ground last month.

There is no question that Guglielmo Vicario will start in goal for the visiting team. In the latter moments of the game, the Italian could do nothing to stop the third shot that made its way into the net, but he had a quiet day against Newcastle, stopping two of the Magpies’ three attempts on goal (Sofascore).

Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro, who are both eager to continue their excellent play after brilliant performances against Newcastle, where Udogie scored his first goal for the team and Porro set up Richarlison’s second goal of the afternoon, will undoubtedly be chosen for the flanks.

Given his limitations as a central defender, Postecoglou will almost certainly start with Ben Davies and Cristian Romero at the back. The two have developed a solid relationship and were unfortunate not to record a clean sheet in their most recent game.

Where the Australian might seek to make some alterations is in the center of the park.

Postecoglou would be smart to take advantage of Forest’s recent goal leakage by selecting a more inventive midfield. Giovani Lo Celso was left off the team for the Newcastle game, but he may be added back in after his impressive streak of goals against Aston Villa and Manchester City.

In a match like this one when Spurs are anticipated to control the ball, that goal-scoring danger could be just what they need. The player most likely to make place for Lo Celso is Yves Bissouma, who produced two crucial passes against Newcastle but zero against Pape Matar Sarr.

Despite Bissouma’s strong defensive performance in the game—he won ten ground duels and made eight tackles—Postecoglou may be looking for a more inventive player to play behind his forward line this time around. Lo Celso’s cameo against Newcastle, in which he completed 92% of his passes, suggests he is ready to take the field.

Dejan Kulusevski has established himself as the starting number 10 and is probably going to stay there after his five crucial passes against Newcastle.

It’s doubtful that the top three will alter. In the next weeks, Richarlison hopes to improve on his two goals against Newcastle, while Son Heung-min showed promise on the left side, with four crucial passes, two goals, and two assists. Brennan Johnson, who finished all four of his dribble attempts during his impressive performance against his old team last time out, will be eager to play well against them.

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