Spurs look to get back on track after a League Cup exit to Nottingham Forest and back-t0-back 2-1 reversals at home in the league when they face Leeds United in their final home match of 2022 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, kick-off at 3 PM BST.
Although much has been made of Spurs’ depleted ranks of late, today’s team news sees Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski in contention to start, although Ryan Sessegnon joins Cristian Romero and Heung-min Son on the sidelines after he picked up a minor muscle strain late on against Forest on Wednesday.
Although Harry Kane and Rodrigo Bentancur are fatigued, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was withdrawn at half-time on Wednesday, it is expected that they will all start, as Antonio Conte will undoubtedly ask the players to end 2022 on a high in front of the home faithful. Nevertheless, no unnecessary risks will be taken, as Conte mentioned in his pre-match presser via the club’s official website:
“Ryan is okay, but not 100 per cent. Today, he didn’t train with us. All the (rest of) the players are available.
“Sessegnon, today he didn’t train with us, he has a little problem and he’s not available for tomorrow’s game. About Richy and Deki, they had a training session, and I have one day to make the best decision.”
While Leeds themselves crashed out of the League Cup in midweek via a 1-0 reversal at the hands of Wolves, they are riding high on the back of dramatic successive league wins over Liverpool and Bournemouth, so one anticipates that confidence will be high among the Yorkshiremen, who are seeking their first win at Spurs since their most recent promotion to the Premiership.
Injury-wise, the visitors are hoping to call on Patrick Bamford after a groin injury, but doubts abound regarding Archie Gray’s fitness. The ever-versatile duo Stuart Dallas and Adam Forshaw and livewires Luis Sinisterra and Joe Gelhardt are all anticipated to miss out.