Predicting Mauricio Pochettino's Opening Tottenham Premier League XI
Tottenham Hotspur kick off their 2015-16 Premier League campaign on August 8 with the season's opening fixture, a daunting trip to Manchester United.
Louis van Gaal's Red Devils enjoyed arguably their best performance of last season when they ripped the north Londoners to shreds in a comfortable 3-0 win in March. While taking into consideration the changes both teams have undergone since then, it is a result that will almost certainly influence Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino's selection for Saturday.
The following article has a stab at predicting what the Argentinian's starting XI is likely to be.
Set up in the 4-2-3-1 formation pre-season indicators suggest Pochettino is likely to persist with this season, we naturally begin with the man in goal.
Goalkeeper: Michel Vorm
1 of 10
There is a possibility Hugo Lloris will have recovered from a fractured wrist in time to face his reported suitors—as claimed by the Independent's James Orr, among others.
But until confirmation of his availability is given by Tottenham, we will assume deputy Michel Vorm will pull on his goalkeeper gloves at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman did solid work when called upon last season, notably helping Spurs to the Capital One Cup final. But facing his former national team boss' side will comfortably be the biggest league match of his time as a Lilywhite.
Given the speculation over Lloris' future, this could be a big opportunity for Vorm to prove his worth to Pochettino in the event the current first choice departs.
Right-Back: Kyle Walker
2 of 10
Kyle Walker will be as keen as anyone to get going again after an assortment of injuries cost him the best part of a year's worth of football.
While 2015 arrivals DeAndre Yedlin and Kieran Trippier have increased the competition at right-back, Walker is likely to retain his first-choice status to begin with.
Similar to Pochettino's faith in Danny Rose last season, the England international's place will be his to lose. So long as he has been doing what the head coach has asked this summer, his mostly positive work for Tottenham over the last few years should have earned him that much.
Now 25 years old, Walker will be keen now to prove his early promise and establish himself as one of his country's most well-rounded full-backs. After Man United terrorised his flank in March, this will be the ideal early examination of his credentials in 2015-16.
Left-Back: Danny Rose
3 of 10
If Ben Davies' energetic performance in the MLS All-Star match was anything to go by, the Welshman is keen to stake a serious claim for more minutes playing in Tottenham's left-back spot this season.
Unfortunately for Davies, his second-half replacement, Danny Rose, also looked sharp, suggesting he is set to pick up where he left off.
The first real indication of where Rose stands will, of course, come at Old Trafford. But it should be a heartening sight for Spurs fans he was looking alert defensively and motivated to get up and down his flank. They were areas in which he notably improved his game in the early part of 2015.
Davies will get further opportunities to remind his head coach of what he can offer. For now, though, Pochettino has little reason to look away from Rose.
Centre-Backs: Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen
4 of 10
The trip to the U.S. did not provide the most auspicious start for the potential Tottenham centre-back pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.
The two allowed MLS All-Stars striker David Villa to get between them and convert what proved to be the winning goal. A brief look at one another afterward suggested some misunderstanding over how the Spaniard should have been dealt with.
They will hope this was merely a blip in a partnership that will quickly build on a familiarity established base formed from years of playing together with Ajax and Belgium.
Given the Premier League experience Alderweireld accrued on loan with Southampton last season, Pochettino should have few qualms about starting him straight away. The left-sided Vertonghen provides obvious balance, which just adds to the logic in going with these two cultured defenders together.
With Eric Dier, Federico Fazio and Kevin Wimmer also available for their boss to call on, the Belgians will know they need to start playing well together as soon as possible.
Centre-Midfield: Nabil Bentaleb
5 of 10
After signing a new five-year contract in July, Nabil Bentaleb was not worried about raising expectations about himself this season.
"You have to improve all the time and if you don’t, I consider that a failure," he told Tottenham's official website.
In the one-and-a-half seasons he has been around the Spurs first team, he has done just that. Building on the dependable but slightly tentative work that marked his initial appearances, he began to play with even greater confidence last time out.
Bentaleb's challenge this year will revolve around how successfully he handles the different responsibilities that come with his manning the engine room of Pochettino's team.
The Argentinian is betting big on the 20-year-old developing into a genuine all-rounder. Coming up against a Man United midfield featuring some combination of Michael Carrick, Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bentaleb will need to be at it in all facets of his game if Spurs are to leave Old Trafford with a positive opening-day result.
Centre-Midfield: Eric Dier
6 of 10
Reading too much into the use of players in pre-season can be risky.
Mostly commonly known to Tottenham supporters as a defender, Dier's recent appearance in central midfield may have been in part because of Ryan Mason's injury—a temporary fix in the position that also allowed new arrival Dele Alli to be eased into proceedings later in the game.
Then again, having mentioned the possibility of using Dier (who played there earlier in his career) as a midfielder previously, Pochettino may view him as a genuine option in the middle.
The 21-year-old is a sturdier defensive presence than some of his team-mates, and he also possesses the ability to drive forward if the situation arises. Seeing as how Manchester United swamped and tore through Spurs' midfield almost at will in March, starting Dier there on Saturday may be a wise precaution.
Right Midfield: Mousa Dembele
7 of 10
A further concession to the danger posed by Manchester United may be the selection of Mousa Dembele at right midfield.
Tottenham's hope that attack might be the best form of defence never got the chance to breathe in the north west earlier this year. Dembele replaced Andros Townsend before half-time as the winger was rendered redundant by the relentlessness of the Red Devils.
The Belgian's selection on the right against the MLS All-Stars may have been a hint of Pochettino's intentions for the upcoming Premier League game.
Dembele still poses some attacking threat, but it is his greater combativeness and positional discipline that could get him the nod ahead of Erik Lamela or Townsend for this one. The former's late pre-season return and the latter's shoulder injury could also have a say here.
Left Midfield: Nacer Chadli
8 of 10
Nacer Chadli made the left-midfield spot his own last season, and barring any notable signing in the position ahead of the trip to Manchester, he will almost certainly start there again.
He finished last season strongly after a tough opening few months. Goals against Newcastle United, Southampton and Hull City helped a previously stumbling Spurs to seven points that earned them their commendable fifth-place finish. In the process, he took his individual scoring tally for the campaign to 14.
Tottenham will need Chadli at his bold best if they are to give Man United something to worry about.
Scoring would obviously be nice, but if nothing else, the attacking midfielder gives his team a hope of putting their opponents on the back foot—a must if they are to avoid being pinned back in the manner they were five months ago.
Central Attacking Midfield: Christian Eriksen
9 of 10
Between Alli, Tom Carroll and Alex Pritchard, not to mention Lamela, Pochettino has options to mix it up in central attacking midfield this season.
To begin with, though, it will be Christian Eriksen who will again be tasked with orchestrating the movements of the Tottenham attack.
The Danish playmaker was swamped at Old Trafford in March and was not among his side's most noteworthy performers in other games against top-four rivals last term. He will be as desperate as anyone to make up for the previous defeat to Man United and prove he is making strides with this team.
Forward: Harry Kane
10 of 10
Harry Kane to start is the most obvious prediction to make for Pochettino's opening Premier League XI of the 2015-16 season.
Despite being denied in the early going, his solo goal against the MLS All-Stars was a terrific reminder the player who shone so brightly for Spurs last season will not be easily dimmed.
There is also the fact he is currently the only striker with any top-flight experience Pochettino is seemingly willing to use. Neither Emmanuel Adebayor nor Roberto Soldado were in Spurs' matchday squad for the aforementioned game, their time in north London seemingly coming to a conclusion.
So long as he is fit and healthy—and possibly even if he is not—Kane is starting against Manchester United.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
