Tottenham Hotspur are back at home this weekend, facing an FA Cup third-round tie against Portsmouth at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with kick-off tomorrow at 12:30 PM BST. The match is viewable on BBC iPlayer, the BBC website, and via the red button for UK viewers.
For this Harry Redknapp derby, Spurs face opposition that are undergoing a bit of a turbulent spell. Earlier in the week, Pompey announced the sacking of Danny Cowley and his assistant and brother Nicky, both of whom left the club on Monday after an indifferent run of form that has left the south-coast outfit nine points adrift of the League One play-off spots in twelfth.
In the absence of a permanently-appointed manager, Simon Bassey has been overseeing affairs at Fratton Park, and takes a depleted squad up to North London.
Midfielder Marlon Pack is suspended after getting sent off in their defeat at home to Charlton on New Year’s Eve, with Dane Scarlett also ineligible due to the terms of his loan from Spurs.
As per The Portsmouth News, Clark Robertson and Joe Rafferty are likely to miss out with groin injuries, with Tom Lowery and Jayden Reid also out with respective hamstring and knee issues.
Official team news from SPurs’ end has yet to be announced, but Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Moura, and Rodrigo Bentancur are all expected to miss out yet again. However, Yves Bissouma returns from his suspension, having sat out Wednesday’s win against Palace after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Villa last week.
Whether or not Bissouma makes the line-up remains to be seen however, with the match presenting a good opportunity to see what Pape Matar Sarr and Oliver Skipp – perhaps even Harvey White against his old club – are capable of in a competitive capacity without the pressures of the league.
Either way, with a tough run of fixtures coming up, this one represents a good opportunity for Antonio Conte to shuffle the pack, and we await what he will give away regarding his selection when he addresses the media later today.
Have your say on the weekend’s cup tie on the Vital Spurs Fan Forum here.