Tottenham may unleash Giovani Lo Celso against Manchester City

Tottenham will need a massive effort to overcome Manchester City this weekend. Mauricio Pochettino may turn to Giovani Lo Celso for help. 

In a perfect world, Tottenham could rely on Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son to shoulder their goal scoring burden at Manchester City this weekend. Unfortunately, Spurs’ Korean ace is still serving a suspension stemming from a straight red card he earned last season. Son’s absence may push one of the club’s new signings into the limelight earlier than expected.

Tanguy Ndombele gave his club a massive goal against Aston Villa in Tottenham’s opener against Aston Villa, but it could be Giovani Lo Celso’s turn to lift Spurs next weekend. The talented Argentine arrived in North London on Deadline Day, but predictably didn’t feature against the Villains just a few days later.

He’s clearly a player that Mauricio Pochettino and company have high hopes for. After all, the £55 million transfer fee Tottenham will ultimately pay Real Betis matches the massive cash outlay for Ndombele. According to The Guardian, the move will technically begin as a loan but includes a compulsory option to buy.

The real question is how soon Lo Celso can earn his manager’s faith. Pochettino has historically been pretty conservative when it comes to inserting new players into his match day 18. Giving Ndombele the start ran against that policy, but in fairness, the French midfielder did arrive early enough in the summer to participate in multiple preseason matches for his new club.

Don’t be surprised if Pochettino really eschews his previous policy and throws Lo Celso right into the fire against Pep Guardiola’s powerful side. Spurs are keenly aware of the need to score multiple goals against City’s prolific attack. The combination of Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela and Kane didn’t produce nearly enough pressure against Villa in the opening 45 minutes. It would be a mild surprise if Pochettino chose to offer that group a chance to reprise their performance at City.

The easy, and more predictable choice for Tottenham would be to re-insert Christian Eriksen into the starting XI. Rumours have connected him with a move away from the North London club for most of the summer, but nothing has materialized to date. He certainly changed the match in a positive manner when he entered the fray against Villa.

That would still leave Lo Celso with room to impact the game off the substitute’s bench. In many ways, that’s the most likely role for him this weekend. City defenders will need to be wary of the former Betis man. He could be Tottenham’s secret weapon on the weekend.