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Mauricio Pochettino will have learnt a lot from his side’s accomplished display against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday, and that could lead him to drop a regular member of the starting line-up in Harry Winks, who has already racked up 832 minutes of playing time this season.
The front three of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Erik Lamela operated very effectively and each had a role in the team scoring five goals, but the players behind them were arguably even more important.
Winks, who Chris Sutton was only raving over earlier this month, made way to allow Moussa Sissoko to partner Tanguy Ndombele and his absence could be longer than just the one game, with the pair dominating in several departments against the Serbian champions and just working well in tandem generally.
Pochettino operated with a 4-2-3-1 formation and that allowed the two centre-midfielders a lot of space in midfield.
They sat deep and that proved a key strategy since it allowed them to cut-out any attacks whilst also giving them the freedom to make bursting runs from the middle of the pitch, which they’re both effective at, as evidenced by Sissko’s two successful dribbles and Ndombele’s assist for Son’s second.
The pair were effective going forward for Spurs, too, with the former Lyon player achieving a pass accuracy of 90% as well as three key passes, thus proving integral to Spurs 59% possession.
Sissoko was similarly effective on the ball, with 89% pass accuracy, whilst also proving valuable in defence, and it is that balance which could see Winks miss out.
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Against Liverpool, Spurs will need to reduce the space available to Roberto Firmino, who has three goals and eight assists this term, and therefore the France international could be the answer.
He managed three interceptions and one tackle on Tuesday, an aspect of the game Winks is lacking in. He has averaged just 1.7 tackles per game this term and that has contributed to Spurs dire defensive record, with 12 goals conceded in the last five games.
As a result, Pochettino may feel that more solidity in his side is needed, and if he allows the two Frenchman to build up their understanding and teamwork then they could become a very useful partnership moving forward.