Predicting Tottenham's XI Against CSKA Moscow
The 2-1 loss Tottenham suffered against Monaco makes it very likely Mauricio Pochettino names the strongest possible starting XI for Tuesday’s match against CSKA Moscow.
Three points are essential if Tottenham want to stay in contention to survive Group E. CSKA’s 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen in the first round of games relieves some of that burden, but Pochettino won’t be so easily mollified.
Saturday’s 2-1 win over Middlesbrough was made possible through a mixed starting XI of bench players and regulars. Some of those changes were enforced by injury, and that will again be the case against CSKA. Several players have been left out of the team that traveled to Moscow on Monday.
All of which means that “strongest possible” doesn’t necessarily mean “strongest” overall. Especially with Pochettino focusing one eye on Sunday’s match against Manchester City, Tottenham’s strength in depth will be put to the test once again.
There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic though. Tottenham’s summer overhaul cut a lot of fat and added some valuable options in reserve, two of which could see action on Tuesday. This is a team designed to withstand both regular rotation and minor injury crises.
Let’s take a look at how all these factors will come together in Pochettino’s team selection on Tuesday.
Probable Tottenham Starting XI
First, the bad news: None of Harry Kane, Moussa Sissoko, Danny Rose, Eric Dier or Mousa Dembélé traveled with the team ahead of Tuesday’s match.
While Kane is still waiting on the final word on his injured ankle, the latter three’s omission will likely be more temporary. They should hopefully recover for future games soon.
Seeing as how all four of these players would feature in a normal Tottenham starting XI, these injuries will force some serious changes.
More from Hotspur HQ
The win over Middlesbrough showed what these kind of changes will look like on the pitch. Pochettino elected then to set up in a broad 4-3-3, with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli playing on either side of Victor Wanyama.
That tactical choice was born of the options available but also for the gameplan Pochettino had in mind. Heung-min Son’s early goals made it easier to crowd the midfield and simply wait out the game with a heavy dose of possession and cover.
Should such a lead not materialize in Moscow, we can expect the formation to look closer to the more traditional, attack-minded 4-2-3-1. Vincent Janssen will lead the line through the middle in Kane’s absence, while Érik Lamela should reclaim his place on the right side of attack.
Son’s incredible form of late more or less demands a start here. He scored four goals in his last three Premier League appearances. Between those matches, however, came a pretty anonymous performance against Monaco in which he got pulled off at half-time. There’s no reason to think that he’s somehow over-awed by the competition, but Georges-Kévin Nkoulou will be anxiously waiting on the bench to cover if Son needs it.
In defense, the only change we should expect is Ben Davies in for Rose. The Welshman took the brunt of the blame for Monaco, but he should still again earn the start.
CSKA won’t be easy to crack, but even a rotated Tottenham can expect to show up as narrow favorites. We’ll look more closely at what Tottenham can expect from Leonid Slutsky’s team later on today.
This article originally appeared on 
