Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to increase the pressure in the race for a top-four finish when they return to Premier League action later this evening.
Antonio Conte’s side welcome Southampton to north London just a few days after advancing into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a resounding 3-1 win over top-flight rivals Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday night.
Spurs are only four points adrift of the top four and they hold nearly a handful of games in hand on those teams around them, so a victory against the Saints could do wonders for their chances of qualifying for a Champions League spot.
It’ll mean that the Italian’s team selection needs to be pretty spot-on, especially after the south coast outfit held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw last time out in the competition.
One player who could be facing the axe is Lucas Moura, who was perhaps the one negative from the weekend’s victory as he was lacklustre and pretty anonymous in the final third but that has often been the case with the Brazilian.
Across 19 league appearances, the 29-year-old winger has only contributed two goals and three assists and that very much echoes his overall record in the top-flight, having only ever delivered 19 goals and 13 assists across 122 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.
That’s a direct contribution once every 228 minutes – some way off his attacking counterparts, Heung-min Son and Harry Kane, who often have to carry the burden of Spurs’ attacking exploits.
Moura, who was once dubbed a “nightmare” to train against by teammate Eric Dier, now has some solid competition behind him in Dejan Kulusevski and not just that, Conte could easily revert to his successful two-man attack system that saw him clinch the Serie A title with Inter Milan last season.
That could then allow an extra body in midfield, where the Lilywhites could really start to assert their dominance on the Saints.
Indeed, the 52-year-old boss axed Moura from the starting XI against Chelsea but brought him back into the side for the FA Cup clash at the weekend, so he’s not afraid to be ruthless over one of the team’s highest-rated players this campaign.
The £18m-rated dynamo has largely excelled in other competitions for Spurs, so he could well be holding them back from success in the big time. He must be axed in favour of one of the two aforementioned changes.
AND in other news, Spurs struck dream deal with £31.5m-rated “Rolls-Royce” who’s like “a new signing”…
