Tottenham projected XI at Watford: Pochettino will shuffle his midfield

Defensive midfielder-Eric Dier

Dier didn’t play his best match on Monday night, but he did enough to keep a clean sheet against Jose Mourinho’s squad. That should be enough to keep him in the starting XI this weekend.

In fairness to the England midfielder, he struggles to find room on the pitch when he plays next to Mousa Dembele. In many ways, he plays better when he’s allowed to shield the back four all by himself. He’ll get that chance on plenty of occasions against Watford.

Defensive midfielder-Harry Winks

Most fans will expect to see Mousa Dembele get another start given the way he played at Old Trafford. That’s a temptation Pochettino must, and should avoid. He can’t play the Belgian too much early in the season if he want to be able to rely on him for the duration of the campaign.

This provides Tottenham with an excellent opportunity to get Harry Winks a much-needed start. He missed all of the preseason due to injury, but he’s been back in training for the last several weeks. Given the possession advantage Spurs should enjoy in this match, playing an offensive-minded player like Winks in the double-pivot makes a ton of sense.

The key for Winks will be to play this game with his brain. He isn’t going to outmuscle Watford’s defensive midfield. Instead, he’ll need to play the ball around them. The more forward passes he can make the better off Spurs will be.