Tottenham predicted lineup vs Aston Villa - Premier League
By Sean Walsh
Tottenham Hotspur's late push to secure Europa League qualification continues with a trip to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Ryan Mason's appointment as interim manager has coincided with a renewed sense of optimism in N17, and though he has only won one of his three games back in the hot-seat, performances have much improved of late.
Their next task sees them tackle an Aston Villa side who are slightly out of sorts having lost their last two games, but remain firmly in the hunt for a European place regardless.
Here's how Spurs could set out their stall at Villa Park.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Aston Villa
GK: Fraser Forster - Has served as a reliable deputy to Hugo Lloris and is set to start the final three games of the season with the club captain out through injury.
CB: Emerson Royal - Spurs operated with a hybrid 3-4-3/4-4-2 system against Crystal Palace last week, with Emerson taking on the role of right centre-back in the former and a natural right-back in the latter.
CB: Cristian Romero - A far better player when his head isn't elsewhere, as demonstrated in the streetwise Crystal Palace victory.
CB: Ben Davies - After Clement Lenglet essentially tore his arm off trying to stop a Michael Olise attack, Davies is likely to revert to centre-back.
RM: Pedro Porro - With the insurance of a defender like Emerson behind him, Porro has been able to attack with more freedom.
CM: Oliver Skipp - Sported a bandage to cover his facial injury last week. In short, nothing is keeping him from starting at the moment.
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - Gave an impassioned interview in Danish this week stressing how Tottenham need to raise their levels to keep the likes of Harry Kane.
LM: Ivan Perisic - Unfortunate to have lost his place in the Crystal Palace win, but the reshuffling to accommodate Lenglet's injury should see the Croatian come back into the side.
RF: Dejan Kulusevski - Richarlison was deserving of his start last time out, but Spurs lack ingenuity with Kulusevski out of the side.
LF: Son Heung-min - Put in one of his better all-round performances in the Crystal Palace win, at last contributing in a major way this term without scoring or assisting.
CF: Harry Kane - Gave a series of interviews over the last week suggesting that he wants to help Tottenham fix their cultural problems.
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