The Central Midfielders
Some Tottenham fans get irritated with Dele Alli upon occasion, but he deserves to be one of the first names on Pochettino’s team sheet. He simply makes things happen when he’s out on the pitch. While he isn’t the most consistent player, he is one of the squad’s most dangerous attackers.
I’m expecting Pochettino to deploy a 4-1-4-1 lineup again which leaves one open starting position next to Alli. In a bit of a surprise, I’m betting for Mousa Dembele to occupy this role.
In a sense, the Belgian’s inclusion allows Pochettino to split the difference between this formation and a 4-2-3-1. Dembele’s ability to play as a box-to-box midfielder gives the Tottenham lineup a lot more flexibility.
The downside to playing Dembele here, is that it does relegate Christian Eriksen to the bench. While that isn’t an ideal scenario, it does give the Danish star the chance to gain some valuable rest. This would be a pragmatic decision by Pochettino to rotate his squad effectively.