Attacking Midfielder-Erik Lamela
The creative Argentine wasn’t on the pitch for a long time against Liverpool last weekend but he made a massive impact. His clever move to step in front of Virgil van Dijk drew what turned out to be the match’s equalizing penalty.
Lamela will get a lot more playing time against Newport. Pochettino will deploy him in Christian Eriksen’s usual spot in the middle of Tottenham’s attacking midfield. Look for Lamela to instill a very high tempo from the onset of this fixture.
Attacking Midfield-Heung-Min Son
I mentioned that I’d like to see Son start up front, but seeing him deployed on the wing is a terrific consolation prize. He ran his socks off against Liverpool, but he’ll need to run hard again on Wednesday.
The ideal plan would be for Son to bag a few early goals and then become the first attacking midfielder subbed off. That might be overly ambitious, but if you gave Pochettino truth serum, it’s what he’s looking for in this one.
Attacking Midfielder-Moussa Sissoko
The Frenchman frequently draws the ire of Tottenham fans on social media, but clearly Pochettino sees something in him. I suspect what the manager likes most about Sissoko is the work rate he brings to every encounter.
Running hard may be more than half the battle in a match like this. Sissoko is never going to be the prettiest footballer on Earth, but that’s not what Spurs need against Newport. His willingness to come in and run for 90 minutes is enough to get him the start.