Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Tottenham Hotspur could line up for Thursday’s Premier League London derby with Chelsea.
Tottenham Hotspur loanee Timo Werner will likely miss out on a reunion with former club Chelsea in Thursday’s Premier League London derby at Stamford Bridge.
The RB Leipzig-owned attacker, who spent two years in West London from 2020 to 2022, picked up a hamstring problem of unknown severity in the first half of the Lilywhites’ 3-2 loss to bitter rivals Arsenal at the weekend.
There has been no official word on the seriousness of Werner’s concern, but even a minor issue would almost certainly rule him out of this match, where he should be one of five players to not make the cut.
Long-term quartet Destiny Udogie (thigh), Fraser Forster (ankle), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh) and Manor Solomon (knee) are watching on from the sidelines as well, but Oliver Skipp could return from the knock which kept him out of the North London derby.
With Werner confined to the treatment room, either Richarlison or Brennan Johnson will be summoned to the first XI, and the former is well-positioned to get the nod after making a complete recovery from a knee injury.
A slight tactical tweak from Ange Postecoglou could therefore see Son Heung-min revert to a wide role, as Richarlison joins the South Korean, Dejan Kulusevski and an out-of-sorts James Maddison in the final third.
The Spurs boss made a bold call to start Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg alongside Rodrigo Bentancur on North London derby day, and while the Dane cannot shoulder too much of the blame for his own goal, both he and his South American counterpart could now vacate their spots for Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma.
Emerson Royal is an option for change at the back, but Ben Davies should continue to deputise for Udogie alongside rearguard mainstays Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Davies; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison
> Click here to see how Chelsea could line up for this match
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