Tottenham Starting 11: FA Cup versus Colchester

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino would be wise to select a much rotated starting 11 versus Colchester

Tottenham should not start its strongest starting 11 in their FA Cup match at Colchester on Saturday. The League One side shouldn’t have enough quality to challenge even a watered down Spurs lineup.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino figures to select a very heavily rotated side. Expect to see a Spurs lineup featuring lots of substitutes and youth for Saturday’s match. Read on to see the starting 11 Pochettino should select.

Forward: Son Hueng-Min

Harry Kane shouldn’t even be in the squad for this match. Expect for Sonny to start the match and ideally, you’ll see a new face like Shayon Harrison on the bench.

The only other reasonable option would be to deploy Nacer Chadli as a striker. Really, as long as we don’t see Kane on the pitch then Pochettino can make whatever selection he likes.

Attacking Midfielders: Nacer Chadli, Tom Carroll and Josh Onomah

Again, I don’t want to see a starter included on the team sheet here. It’s much too dangerous to risk Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Mousa Dembele or Dele Alli in this match. Start Chadli to give the attack a mature leader, but otherwise, let’s leave it all to the kids.

Defensive Midfielders: Nabil Bentaleb and Harry Winks

I’d give the nod here to Ryan Mason if he’s fit, but as of yet, I don’t think we’ve received any indication of that to date. That’s why I’d like to see Winks get the opportunity. He’s too good to just play U21 matches at this stage of his career.

As for Bentaleb, this is just a good opportunity to get him some meaningful playing time. He seems to be back in Pochettino’s plans as of late and a good performance here could only strengthen his position in the manager’s eyes.

Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Kyle Walker-Peters, Kieran Trippier and Federico Fazio

I vowed to myself that I’d never want us to play Fazio in a match again, but with Jan Vertonghen’s recent injury, I’m afraid there’s no choice. Neither Toby Alderweireld or Kevin Wimmer should be risked at this point in the season.

Carter-Vickers just deserves a first-team debut. He’s reportedly been in great form for the U21 side so this is the natural progression for the talented youngster. Same goes for Kyle Walker-Peters although he’s probably not quite as far along.

I went back and forth over who to play at right back, but I think this group needs a bit of extra quality with Trippier. If there was a better youth option I’d be in favor of that instead.

Keeper: Michel Vorm

Hugo Lloris should be left at home for this one. It’s exactly the kind of game Vorm was brought into the club to start. Take a youth keeper along for the ride as a backup.

Discover the right starting 11 for Tottenham versus Colchester

By Rucker Haringey | Jan 29, 2016