Tottenham vs. Bolton: Picking a Spurs Starting XI to Win FA Cup Quarterfinal

The time for change is now.

If Tottenham want to avoid throwing away all the great work they've put into this season, they've got to turn their form around immediately, starting with a win over Bolton in the FA Cup quarterfinals.

Various things have gone wrong for Tottenham in the last few weeks, and now is Tottenham's opportunity to change things back to the way they were before the North London derby.

In the last couple weeks, many of the world football's sleeping giants have awoken from their slumber to win big in important games.

Arsenal are on an excellent run of form that has powered them into the top four and a within a point of Spurs' third-place spot, Chelsea have won their last three games, securing qualification for the Champions League quarterfinals with a remarkable comeback over Napoli, and Bayern Munich have re-established themselves as Bundesliga and Champions League contenders with 7-1 and 7-0 victories over 1899 Hoffenheim and FC Basel respectively.

It's time for Spurs to join these teams by hitting top-form over this upcoming crucial stretch of the season.

Let's preview the lineup Redknapp must put out to get Spurs started on the right foot with a win over Bolton.

GK: Carlo Cudicini

Harry Redknapp has been very fair with playing time for his goalkeepers this season; he's had Brad Friedel play in league games, while Carlo Cudicini has played in all cup games. 

It's a system that's worked, as Cudicini is still a fine goalkeeper even at the advanced age of 38. In nine games this season, Cudicini has conceded only three goals and record six clean sheets.

I expect that he won't be too troubled by a Bolton team that usually struggles for goals, but in the event that he is, I have little doubt that Cudicini will be up for the challenge.

LB: Danny Rose

Even though he is not a natural left-back by any means, Redknapp has decided to make Danny Rose his cup left-back for the season, and so, I have little doubt that he'll be starting when Tottenham face off against Bolton this weekend.

To be fair to Rose, he does not make for a bad left-back and certainly offers a greater offensive threat than Benoit Assou-Ekotto. His energy and hustle are often uplifting whenever the team looks exhausted or low on energy.

I would like to see Rose further develop the offensive aspects of his game and record more assists from his left-back or left wing-back position.

When that happens, I think Rose will be able to force Redknapp to give him more playing time, the way Gareth Bale did a few seasons ago.

RB: Kyle Walker

Since sending Vedran Corluka out on loan with Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham have had almost no depth at the right-back position. Younes Kaboul has played as a right-back for the club from time to time, but Michael Dawson's injury will likely ensure he'll be needed in the middle.

As such, Kyle Walker will be forced to start at right-back for Tottenham. Not that anyone will mind, despite his recent struggles, Walker is still one of the EPL's most promising right-backs, and is a joy to watch.

He's been limited in recent games, but against Bolton's relatively weak defense, there's hope that he'll be able to break out of his slump and get back to being the pacy attack full-back we all came to love in the first half of the season.

CB: Younes Kaboul

After a very positive start to the season, Younes Kaboul has regressed greatly over the last few games into the error-prone centre-back of years past.

Nevertheless, with Michael Dawson injured once again and Ledley King being saved for EPL games only, Kaboul is Tottenham's best available centre-back and sure to be named to Spurs' starting lineup.

Bolton strike force lacks many serious goal-scoring threats, as neither David N'Gog nor Kevin Davies is a prolific goal-scorer.

Veteran striker Ivan Klasnic has been Bolton's most dangerous striker this season, but Kaboul should be able to comfortably handle the Croatian's game.

CB: Ryan Nelsen

Even though William Gallas is reportedly approaching full fitness in his return from a calf injury suffered back on January 3rd, Redknapp is unlikely to risk giving the veteran Frenchman the full 90 minutes in such an intense and important matchup.

As such, Ryan Nelsen is likely to make his fourth appearance for Spurs against Bolton in the FA Cup.

Though it was indeed Nelsen who conceded the penalty that put Stevenage 1-0 up at White Hart Lane, he recovered well to put in a disciplined, composed performance for the rest of the game, and still has much to give even at his advanced age.

He may struggle to match the pace of someone like David N'Gog, but his physicality and muscle should help him deal comfortable with whatever aerial or physical challenges come his way.

LM: Gareth Bale

After stupidly playing Gareth Bale as a right midfielder last week, Harry Redknapp will be sure to make amends for his earlier mistake by playing Bale in his favored position—left midfielder.

In Bale's last FA Cup outing, he recorded three assists, assisting on every one of Tottenham's goals against Stevenage. Against the weak defense of Bolton, I'm definitely expecting more of the same from the Welshman.

RM: Niko Kranjcar

The right midfielder position has become huge for Tottenham in recent weeks, when it really shouldn't have.

Tottenham have a number of options at right midfield. Even though none of them are natural right midfielders, Rafael van der Vaart, Giovani dos Santos and Niko Kranjcar have all played as right midfielders for Tottenham and have had success with the position.

Furthermore, Danny Rose is a player who could probably have success in the position if given the opportunity to try it out, and the same applies to Kyle Walker if Tottenham had a backup right-back to link up with him.

For this game, I hope and expect Redknapp to stick with what has worked most for Tottenham this season and play Kranjcar at right midfield. 

Kranjcar is rarely spectacular from the right midfield position; he's much more effective as a central or attacking midfielder. But he certainly has the ability to be solid and get the job done in the position and has scored as right midfielder as well.

CM: Jake Livermore

I most definitely rate Scott Parker and Sandro higher than Jake Livermore.

That being said, I expect Redknapp to continue giving his favorite Tottenham product playing time in the center of midfield, to help him develop as well as to give Scott Parker and Sandro the opportunity to rest.

Livermore game has shown signs of development in recent weeks, and even though he's still in need of support from creative players around him, he's a good passer of the ball and a decent defensive midfielder.

CM: Luka Modric

At Tottenham, there are only two players who can handle the responsibilities of the creative central midfielder position: Kranjcar and Modric.

Rafael van der Vaart can sometimes pick up some of the slack in the final third in terms of playmaking and such, but ultimately, even he functions better when supported by one of the two above players.

With Aaron Lennon definitely out and Kranjcar likely to be pushed out wide, Modric will likely be asked to return to his favorite central midfield position against Bolton.

This game arrives at a good time for Modric. After being inexplicably played out wide in his last two games, Modric has entered a bit of a rut, and a game against a team with a weak midfield like Bolton's is just what Modric needs to get back in form.

ST: Rafael Van Der Vaart

If there's one Tottenham player struggling more than others, its Rafael van der Vaart.

The Dutch playmaker has not looked like himself since picking up an injury at Wigan back at the end of January and is desperately in need of a goal and playing time to pick up his game in this crucial stretch of the season.

Despite the competition over playing time, I'm confident Redknapp will make the right decision and name Van der Vaart to the starting lineup.

ST: Louis Saha

As much as I may hate to admit it, Saha deserves the opportunity to play against Bolton this weekend.

First of all, first-choice center forward Emmanuel Adebayor is struggling for fitness, and given his weak performance against Everton, this may be a good opportunity to rest the Togolese hitman.

Secondly, Louis Saha was easily Tottenham's most impressive forward against Everton.

His ability to work with another striker is something which few of Tottenham's other forwards have, as VDV, Adebayor and Defoe all have the tendency to let this selfishness take over their game.

Finally, as much as I like Defoe, with VDV, you need a big target man to get on the end of crosses and win the ball in the air, and without Adebayor, Saha is the only Tottenham striker who can do this with any regularity.

Prediction

Ultimately, with how strange and unpredictable Tottenham's FA Cup lineups have been this season, my lineup predictions could be filled with errors. 

Niko Kranjcar could start in the middle, William Gallas could start at centre-back, Luka Modric may drop to the bench, Sandro or Scott Parker could be preferred to Livermore and Defoe or Adebayor could start over Saha and Van der Vaart, especially if Adebayor is declared fit before the game.

Nevertheless, I'm hoping that Redknapp will make the right changes to the team, and in doing so, help Tottenham cruise to a comfortable 2-0 win, or maybe even a 3-0 win, like they did back at the start of December.

What do you predict will be Tottenham's lineup for this game, and what's your scoreline prediction?

Share your opinion in the comments section below.