The Defense
Tottenham’s defense will face a huge task in the form of Manchester City’s offensive juggernaut. Leading the line for the Citizens will be Spurs nemesis Sergio Aguero. Pochettino will deploy a strong defense in an effort to keep him under wraps.
To the shock of absolutely no one, Hugo Lloris will start in goal for the club. He’s the captain for both club and country, and he has the ability to keep his club in the match single-handedly if need be. Spurs will hope that isn’t his role Sunday, but it’s a comfort to have him has the last line of defense.
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Directly in front of Lloris, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen will form the central defensive partnership. Each man is off to a solid start to the campaign, but they’ll need to up their performances another level to deal with the City attack.
At right back, Kyle Walker will look to build on his strong start to the season. He’ll be important for both the Tottenham attack and Spurs’ defense. He’ll be expected to provide width when his club have the ball, and to race back in defense when the situation calls for it.
Left back is really the only spot up for grabs. The conservative move would be to give Ben Davies another start. Danny Rose has missed several matches due to injury and only returned to training late this week. My guess is Pochettino will be willing to gamble though. Look for Rose to finally return to the starting XI.