Tottenham Hotspur and Coventry City go head-to-head in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, 18th September, at 20:00 UK time at The Coventry Building Society Arena.
Ange Postecoglou remains bullish at Spurs’ chances of winning a piece of silverware this season in spite of successive Premier League defeats and although the Lilywhites can be comfortably ruled out of contention for the premiership, this is how they could line-up for the EFL Cup, a competition which they have a chance of winning.
Goalkeeper – Guglielmo Vicario has played all of Tottenham’s Premier League matches but goalkeepers usually tend to rotate in the early stages of the cup competitions. Therefore, the Italian is likely to make way for Fraser Forster to make his maiden appearance of the campaign.
Defenders – Tottenham’s backline has been far from solid, especially on the last couple of occasions, but Destiny Udogie and Micky van de Ven could rest after having fitness scares earlier in the season.
Pedro Porro will keep his place as the right-back while Udogie would be replaced by Ben Davies on the left. Cristian Romero is Spurs’ best central defender and will play against Coventry and will be partnered by Romanian international Radu Dragusin.
Son to miss out but Werner and Solanke set to start
Midfielders – Pape Matar Sarr will start as the defensive midfielder ahead of a relatively strong backline. Ange Postecoglou could hand English prodigy Archie Gray with his first start of the 2024/25 season and the Coventry fixture will be a good opportunity for the former Leeds teenager to show what he has in store.
Dejan Kulusevski will keep his place having started against Arsenal. The Swede will play a role in midfield as opposed to the final third.
Forwards – Heung-min Son could miss out on the left flank with Timo Werner coming into the starting eleven instead. Wilson Odobert is also likely to be handed a start on the right wing ahead of Brennan Johnson, who has been in extremely poor form this season. Dominic Solanke will lead the line as he hopes to open his account for Tottenham.
This is how the Lilywhites could line-up on paper:
