Tottenham Hotspur face Arsenal in the North London derby in a match that is already massive for both teams.
Tottenham have made an underwhelming start to the season but will be hoping to kick-start their campaign by taking advantage of a depleted Arsenal side.
Martin Odegaard is out of the derby with an ankle injury, Mikel Merino has suffered a shoulder injury which will keep him out for a while and Declan Rice is suspended.
But for Spurs, Dominic Solanke and Micky van de Ven passed fit to play handing Ange Postecoglou’s side a major boost in the North London derby.
The Australian coach could make one big change in his defence and the Lilywhites’ supporters have explained what that could be.
Udogie out, Van de Ven in and Dragusin to start
Tottenham fans believe Destiny Udogie could drop out of the line-up and be replaced by the returning Micky van de Ven against Arsenal.
With Bukayo Saka playing down the right-hand side, Tottenham may need some more defensive stability and Van de Ven is no stranger to playing left-back.
The 22-year-old impressed as a full-back towards the end of last season and also looked good there for the Netherlands at the Euros. Spurs fans have now taken to X to share their thoughts on Udogie swapping out for the Dutch defender.
One supporter said: “Some rumours said Dragusin can start tomorrow Ange said Van de Ven is fit. So I think he can drop Udogie and play with 4 of Porro, Romero, Dragusin and Van de Ven.”
“I’m kind of hoping he does [starts Dragusin] and Van de Ven moves to LB Better at box defending than Van de Ven, and Van de Ven is much better defensively than Udogie. Udogie is too comfy anyway, we need some rotation,” another fan added.
Finally, a supporter added: “Not advocating for Udogie to be dropped but when Radu posts what he did, I assume he’s starting which leads me to believe Van de Ven left back shift because Micky has been training for two weeks according to Ange.”
How could Tottenham line-up vs Arsenal?
Postecoglou could opt to select a more attacking line-up given Arsenal’s midfield issues, which could involve both James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski starting centrally.
He would then have a choice of who starts on the right with Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson vying for the spot on the wing.
Yves Bissouma looks to be a major doubt for the match after suffering an injury on international duty and could be replaced by Rodrigo Bentancur.
Possible Tottenham line-up vs Arsenal (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Dragusin, Romero, Van de Ven; Bentancur, Maddison, Kulusevski; Son, Odobert, Solanke.
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