Tottenham Hotspur travel to West Ham United on Sunday at 2pm looking to end the Premier League season on a good run of form.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs West Ham
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Spence, Danso, Davies, Udogie; Kulusevski, Gray, Sarr; Odobert, Richarlison, Tel.
Ange Postecoglou’s men are guaranteed to finish in the bottom half of the table, so they’re playing for pride in the Premier League. They’re also playing to build momentum ahead of a potential Europa League final.
Tottenham have put themselves in a good position of reaching the Europa League final, leading Bodo/Glimt 3-1 after the first leg of their semi-final. So, Tottenham will also have an eye on Thursday’s return fixture when they travel to the London Stadium.
Tottenham team news vs West Ham
James Maddison and Dominic Solanke had to come off injured in Tottenham’s midweek win over Bodo/Glimt. And while Postecoglou is optimistic about their chances of playing in the second leg, they may not be risked here. Maddison has been sent for a scan.
Richarlison is likely to start through the middle on Sunday, with Mathys Tel filling the role left by the Brazilian on the wing. That’s because Son Heung-min is still a doubt with a foot injury, and isn’t expected back for another week or so.
Lucas Bergvall missed the win over Bodo/Glimt through injury and will now likely be out for the rest of the season. So we may see a midfield of Pape Matar Sarr, Dejan Kulusevski and Archie Gray, should Postecoglou want to rotate.
There may also be a swap on the right wing, with Wilson Odobert coming in for Brennan Johnson.
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Tottenham also have some depth defensively, and we could see a back five similar to the one that started the defeat to Liverpool last weekend. Ben Davies and Kevin Danso were the centre-back pairing, flanked by Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie.
Postecoglou: Tottenham will continue to rotate
With nothing on the line in the Premier League, Tottenham are putting all of their eggs in the Europa League basket. After all, winning the trophy would also seal passage to the Champions League.
As a result, Tottenham’s league form has dipped with five defeats from their past six, only beating Championship-bound Southampton. But Postecoglou has defended his team choices.
“Look, I just don’t think we had any other choice. We can try and protect players, but it’s just the way our season’s gone and even in recent times I think we’ve managed the squad really well where all our players are in good physical conditions,” he told reporters.
“The injuries we’ve had recently are all stuff that you just can’t… they’re out of your control.
“We can’t put players at risk in the league when we know what’s the importance of what we have in front of us in terms of the Europa League, and like I said, balancing that off with guys having to get game time as well.
“So, there’s no doubt when you’re making seven, eight or nine changes that I make, that has an effect on the team in the Premier League for sure, because you’re usually playing against teams that are rested, that are settled, and it’s a massive ask, but I think it’s been necessary. It’s painful, unfortunately, but hopefully we get to reap the rewards of that.”