Predicted Tottenham Lineup to face Liverpool with change in personnel expected in midfield

Predicted Tottenham lineup vs. Liverpool

Goalkeeper: Guglielmo Vicario

Guglielmo Vicario has come under serious scrutiny of late following his inconsistent performances. He was partly at fault for Forest’s opening goal and misjudged the flight of the ball for the second goal.

There is a lot of pressure on the Italian heading into this fixture, especially with Liverpool visiting Tottenham. So, Vicario must deliver a big performance to keep his place intact between the sticks.

Defence: Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Djed Spence

Tottenham were defensively all over the place at Forest. The backline, for some or the other reason, have been leaking goals at an alarming rate for a while now. Despite that, we don’t see Frank ringing any changes to his back four that started in the defeat to Forest.

This means Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence all start here. Porro and Spence will be the full-backs, with Romero and Van de Ven continuing their partnership in central defence. They have to be tight and compact to keep Liverpool at bay.

Midfield: Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur, Xavi Simons

We could see a change in personnel in midfield after it got overrun and outsmarted by Forest at the City Ground. Joao Palhinha appears likely to get a recall to the starting XI after getting benched in the last few games. An experienced operator like Palhinha will add a much-needed layer of protection to the vulnerable defence.

Archie Gray had a poor afternoon last weekend and was partly at fault for Forest’s first goal. Dropping the youngster from the XI will hurt his confidence, but given Liverpool’s physicality and power in midfield, Frank may be forced to bite that bullet. Gray could be the one to make way for Palhinha, with Rodrigo Bentancur retaining his spot in the engine room.

The manner in which the Lilywhites are failing to control games would entice the gaffer to use another body in the middle of the park in the form of Lucas Bergvall. However, with Xavi Simons finally starting to click into gear, Frank is expected to persist with him in the No.10 role.

Attack: Wilson Odobert, Richarlison, Mohammed Kudus

Spurs were totally blunt going forward in the Forest defeat. This might push Frank to change something in the attack to cause problems for Liverpool. Creator-in-chief, Mohammed Kudus, is a certainty to keep his place on the right flank, but there will be a temptation to start Wilson Odobert on the opposite wing purely because of his speed and directness during transitions.

Up top, there is no looking past Richarlison at the moment. With his physicality and aerial ability, he can ruffle a few Liverpool feathers at the back. Randal Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson could provide spark and dynamism in attack when required.

Tottenham Hotspur predicted lineup vs. Brentford (4-2-3-1): Guglielmo Vicario; Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky Van de Ven, Djed Spence; Xavi Simons, Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur; Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert.