Tottenham didn’t play well to start their Champions League group play this season. That’s why Mauricio Pochettino will start a strong XI at Olympiacos.
Spurs came back from the dead in Champions League group play last season. Mauricio Pochettino and company don’t want to repeat that feat this season. Instead, they’d like to advance to the Knockout Round with some degree of ease. An opening win at Olympiacos would go a long way towards making those dreams a reality.
In short, expect the Argentine boss to start a strong XI against his Greek opponents. It won’t be the most powerful starting XI Tottenham are capable of running out onto the pitch, but it will be pretty close. Without delay, let’s get to the 11 players Pochettino will choose.
Striker-Harry Kane
Pochettino will want to rest his striker at some point this season, but he’s playing too well at the moment to bench. Look for Kane to open his Champions League account with an important goal in this match.
Attacking midfielder-Heung-Min Son
Son will look to build off his brilliant performance against Crystal Palace by punishing the Olympiacos back line. It will be interesting to see if the Greek side can handle his pace down the flank.
Attacking midfielder-Christian Eriksen
If Eriksen wants to secure a move away to a club like Real Madrid, he absolutely needs to dominate matches like this. Spurs fans should keep a close eye on his effort level early in the match. He could be guilty of doing too much.
Attacking midfielder-Dele Alli
It might seem a bit harsh to drop Erik Lamela and/or Lucas Moura, but Dele needs a start to get his own season going. This represents a great opportunity for Pochettino to integrate him into the squad.
Defensive midfielder-Harry Winks
Spurs should enjoy long spells of possession in this game which makes playing Winks a relatively easy decision. The key for him will be to make sure he can keep the ball moving when Olympiacos tries to slow down play with their dogged defensive work.
Defensive midfielder-Tanguy Ndombele
Ndombele will play the deeper role of the two defensive midfielders, but look for him to get forward frequently as well. He might not last the full 90 minutes, but he’ll want to make his mark on this match in the first half.
Left back-Ben Davies
Danny Rose isn’t making the trip so it’s pretty obvious that Davies is going to get the starting nod. The only other real option available to Pochettino would be to push Vertonghen out to the left side. That’s rather unlikely.
Centre back-Toby Alderweireld
Alderweireld has been Tottenham’s best defender on the season and that earns him this Champions League start. There’s a slight chance Pochettino could put Davinson Sanchez into this spot, but that would be taking too much of a risk.
Centre back-Jan Vertonghen
If Vertonghen isn’t moved to left back, he’s going to get the start in the middle of the Spurs defence. His ability to initiate play from the back will be crucial for his club.
Right back-Kyle Walker-Peters
Serge Aurier played a brilliant match against Palace, but he didn’t make the trip to Greece. That leaves Walker-Peters as the only healthy, natural right back who made the trip. Unless Pochettino wants to reprise his interesting choice to deploy Sanchez out wide, he’ll play the young Englishman.
Keeper-Hugo Lloris
It’s an important match for Spurs which means Lloris will be in goal. Paulo Gazzaniga might want get a chance to play later in the group stage, but not in the opener.