Lucas deserves another start for Tottenham
Tottenham head to Palace today for a match where they simply cannot afford to drop a single point. Mauricio Pochettino’s squad is desperate to achieve Champions League qualification again next season, but losing a point or three to the Eagles could prove fatal to those hopes.
As such, it’s safe to expect Spurs to go with a very strong starting XI. Ideally, they’d be able to rotate the squad somewhat ahead of next month’s return fixture against Juventus. Unfortunately, the hotly contested race for the Premier League’s top four positions make that luxury impossible.
Most of Pochettino’s lineup sets itself at this point in the year. When Toby Alderweireld returns from injury things will get a bit more complicated for the Tottenham gaffer, but his classy Belgian will miss this fixture due to injury.
That transfers almost all of the intrigue regarding the team selection further up the pitch. Harry Kane is a mortal lock to lead the line, but the three positions behind him are very much up in the air. Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son will feel they all deserve to start, but new signing Lucas Moura made an emphatic statement against Rochdale last week that he deserves to stay in the starting XI.
Read on to discover the starting lineup Pochettino will go with to take care of business against Palace. It should be a straightforward process, but Pochettino has been known to pull a surprise or two out of his hat.