Serge Aurier was omitted from Tottenham’s matchday squad in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Olympiacos. Ahead of the fixture, Mauricio Pochettino cited the need to rotate his squad in Europe, so his decision to leave out the 26-year-old may have been down to protecting his fitness.
Aurier has only recently returned to the first-team. He was given 90 minutes of playing time in Tottenham’s 4-0 win over Crystal Palace and may not have been fit enough for a challenging away game in Europe just days later. Davinson Sanchez was instead given the nod at right-back.
Spurs next face Leicester City on September 21 and Aurier should be ready to return to the starting eleven – he buit up his match fitness last Saturday and has had a week to train.
Pochettino will have Kyle Walker-Peters available, having named him on the bench against Olympiacos, but Aurier hasn’t given him a reason to be dropped after impressing against Palace so he should keep his place in the league. Walker-Peters has only just returned from injury too, so he may not be ready to start.
Ahead of their weekend clash with Leicester, Spurs are third in the table with eight points from five games.