Who will start in defence for Tottenham at Newcastle?

Anyone who tells you they know who Tottenham will start next weekend at Newcastle is a liar. The central defensive pairing is certainly up in the air.

The Premier League season is a week away and there’s a ton of uncertainty about who Mauricio Pochettino will start in Tottenham’s opening fixture at Newcastle. Spurs fans are particularly concerned about which two central defenders will play ahead of Hugo Lloris. Davinson Sanchez seems like a good bet to start against the Mapgies, but the identity of his defensive partner is a mystery.

There are three realistic options as to who might get the nod. In a perfect world, Jan Vertonghen would return to training this week and prove to Pochettino he’s ready to start at Newcastle. There’s a reason the two started almost every match of the second half of last season together. Vertonghen is a class defender and he compliments Sanchez’s skills very well.

Assuming Toby Alderweireld is still a member of Pochettino’s squad next weekend, he might get an opportunity to work his way back into the Argentine gaffer’s good graces. That isn’t very likely, but stranger things have happened. If Alderweireld is really fit and motivated he has more than enough ability to be in Tottenham’s starting squad every week.

The last of the three realistic options is the most risky. When the summer began it seemed obvious that Cameron Carter-Vickers would be heading out on loan once again. Spurs hoped he’d done enough last season to convince a Premier League club to take him on.

Now, it looks as if the American international has a serious chance to stick with the senior squad when the Premier League season begins. He owes some of his opportunity to the lack of competitors, but he also looked very competent in his preseason appearances for Spurs.

The trouble for Carter-Vickers is that he lacks the height generally required to excel as a Premier League centre back. He’s not too much different from Manchester City’s Nicolas Otamendi in terms of stature. That means Carter-Vickers has to be nearly perfect with his defensive positioning. To date, he still looks to have too many mistakes in his locker. Starting him at Newcastle might be very likely, but it will be a big roll of the dice by Pochettino.

Tottenham wants to get off to a good start at Newcastle, but they’ll field a weakened squad against Rafa Benitez’s team. That might cost them precious points early in the 2018/19 campaign.