Spurs travel to Old Trafford tomorrow night (kick-off 8.15 PM BST) to take on Manchester United, who are currently 5th in the Premier League.
Spurs will be looking to build on a four-match unbeaten run in all competitions, which includes winning three successive games against Brighton, Eintracht Frankfurt and Everton, whilst United – who themselves are unbeaten in four in all competitions since their capitulation at the Etihad – will be looking to return to winning ways after a 0-0 draw at home to Newcastle on Sunday.
The hosts may very well have to do this without the services of Spurs old boy Christian Eriksen, who has sat out training this week with the illness that kept him out of the Newcastle match.
United will also have to do without the services (or lack thereof, based on the tosh that this lot has served over the years!) of Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams and Axel Tuanzebe.
However, Scott McTominay and Martin Dubravka will return to their squad after being unable to partake in the Newcastle match, which McTominay sat out through suspension, and Dubravka due to the terms of his loan deal from Newcastle.
For Spurs, Emerson Royal serves the final match of his 3-game ban. Moreover, Richarlison will definitely be out with the calf injury he picked up against Everton, although the injury is not as bad as first feared. The match is also likely to come too soon for Dejan Kulusevski, who is continuing his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury.
The absence of the attacking duo has culminated in rife speculation that we will see the 3-5-2 that finished the Everton match on Saturday from the outset, but Antonio Conte was keen to refute those noises…perhaps to keep United guessing:
“Tomorrow, Lucas Moura can be a possibility,” Conte said, quoted by the Evening Standard. “Gil can be a possibility, Perisic like a striker is a possibility. I have another day of training sessions to make the best decision.
“You know we like to play with a 3-4-3, with three strikers, and if we can’t change then I prefer to continue to play with a 3-4-3. Otherwise I will find another solution but I think we have the possibility to play with a 3-4-3.”
The match will be viewable via the Amazon Prime streaming service for those unable to get to Old Trafford.