Tottenham take on Fulham on Monday evening where a win will see them return to the top of the Premier League table. Ange Postecoglou and his players have had to watch Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all pick up points with their last game, the 1-0 win over Luton Town, coming over two weeks ago.
Heading into the October international break, Spurs sat at the summit above the Gunners on goals scored, however wins for Liverpool and Man City, along with a draw for Mikel Arteta’s side against Chelsea, now means Spurs are fourth.
However in just four days time, the best-case scenario would see Spurs top by five points as they play Crystal Palace on Friday before all of their Premier League rivals player their tenth game of the season. Picking up six points will be an impressive return in the space of four days given the lack of squad depth Postecoglou has at his disposal.
To help overcome that challenge, Postecoglou will need to rely on the likes of Giovani Lo Celso, Bryan Gil, Oliver Skipp and the returning duo of Brennan Johnson and Rodrigo Bentancur with the latter getting closer to his first minutes since February.
In the meantime, Postecoglou is expected to name the same nine players who, minus Pape Matar Sarr and Pedro Porro, that have all started every league game this season. The two spots up for grabs will be left wing and holding midfield with Yves Bissouma suspended, although it is very likely Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg fills in for the latter.
Brennan Johnson and Richarlison meanwhile, will be competing for a spot in the front three with the latter coming in over the last few weeks for Johnson after he picked up a hamstring injury against Arsenal. Ahead of the game, Spurs posted a pre-match graphic which included four regular starters suggesting they will all be in action, despite some injury worries.
Pictured in the post is Destiny Udogie, Sarr, Cristian Romero and James Maddison with the latter two as recent fitness concerns, however Postecoglou has confirmed that no fresh injuries are prominent. While Hojbjerg is expected to be Bissouma’s replacement in the starting XI, the player coming into the matchday squad for the Mali international may have been revealed.
In some recent training pictures posted to Instagram, academy starlet Yaya Santiago is shown in action with the senior team at Hotspur Way. While academy stars joining in sessions to make up the numbers is not uncommon, the Spain international is pictured wearing a green bib with Bryan Gil and Oliver Skipp also wearing that colour.
In recent weeks both Skipp and Gil have been on the bench which suggest Santiago could be joining them in the vacant spot left by Bissouma who will have to watch on from the stands.
