Attacking midfielder-Erik Lamela
While the Sissoko hates remain crestfallen after my defensive midfield prediction, the Lamela lovers can jump for joy here. The talented Argentine should be in line to get a start for his countryman in this match.
Lamela really is the perfect player to make sure the Spurs attack doesn’t get bogged down. Swansea will want to slow the match down and make it as ugly as possible. Lamela isn’t afraid to get down and play in the mud, but his top skill is to keep the attack moving at a fast pace. The more he gets on the ball in this match, the better off the Tottenham attack will be.
Attacking midfielder-Dele Alli
Dele looks like a player who is about to go on a white-hot run of form. Pochettino can’t leave him out of the starting XI given how good he looked against Southampton.
In a strange way, Kane’s absence should give Dele more license to try to grab this match by the throat. It’s not as if he’s ever shy about trying to carry the ball forward and score, but he does occasionally defer to Kane.
He won’t be troubled with that choice during this match. Dele may frustrate fans with his selfish play, but look for him to get on the score sheet one way or another against Swansea.
Attacking midfielder-Christian Eriksen
For the record, I did briefly consider slotting Harry Winks into this spot. As I mentioned previously, Tottenham need to move the ball quickly in this match. Both Winks and Eriksen are capable of helping that happen.
Given Kane’s potential absence, it makes more sense to give the talented Dane the starting nod. He may frustrate some Spurs fans with his occasional poor runs of form, but his talent is undeniable. He can play a bad match and still kill off the opposition with a brilliant finish. That’s enough to get him in Pochettino’s starting Xi for this match.