Tottenham Hotspur travel to the Stade Louis II on Wednesday at 8pm (UK time) to face Monaco in the Champions League.
Thomas Frank’s men have gone unbeaten in their first two group games so far. But they did have to come from 2-0 down to draw with Bodo/Glimt last time out.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Monaco
Tottenham (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Sarr, Bentancur, Kudus; Johnson, Simons, Richarlison.
Frank’s squad is stretched to the limit. Defenders Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero are the latest to be added to the absentee-list.
Tottenham team news vs Monaco
Like Ange Postecoglou before him, Frank is finding injuries a major problem at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Udogie and Romero were marked absent in Sunday’s home loss to Aston Villa in the league. They joined the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Yves Bissouma, Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies and Dominic Solanke (ankle) in the treatment room.
In defence, Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso should be the centre-backs, with Djed Spence and Pedro Porro outside them.
Richarlison looks like the man set to lead the line, while Mohammed Kudus, Brennan Johnson and Xavi Simons are cast in supporting roles.
Tottenham must be wary of Monaco threat
Tottenham must bid to avoid any semblance of the new manager bounce after the dismissal of Adi Hutter over the international break. Sebastien Pocognoli is the replacement, swapping his role at Union Saint-Gilloise for a job in the principality.
He admits it might take some time to implement his style; suggesting: “First, we need to tackle the basics. There’s a lot of physical work to be done if we want to play the way I want. Physical fitness leads to mental strength, and if we have mental strength, we will have confidence.
“I want to implement a playing system where the individual shines through the team and where, conversely, the system isn’t dependent solely on the individual.”
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Monaco did the double over Tottenham when these sides met in the 2016-17 group stage, winning both matches 2-1. And they have already tackled Premier League opposition in the Champions League this season. Former Tottenham defender Eric Dier scored a 90th-minute penalty that rescued a 2-2 draw against Manchester City on matchday two.
In fact, the Ligue 1 club have lost only one of their last 10 matches at home against English visitors. Tottenham are unbeaten in four matches against French clubs, including defending European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup in August. Although, of course, they did lose the tie on penalties.