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Lo Celso chance, Dragusin starts - The Tottenham team Postecoglou should pick vs Liverpool

Giovani Lo Celso will be hoping to get the nod in Tottenham's game at Liverpool
Giovani Lo Celso will be hoping to get the nod in Tottenham's game at Liverpool -Credit:Visionhaus/Getty Images


Tottenham have the opportunity to immediately bounce back from Thursday's defeat at Chelsea when they travel to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. Second best at Stamford Bridge and deservedly on the end of a 2-0 loss, the Lilywhites' hopes of securing a top-four finish look incredibly slim now with time running out in the 2023/24 campaign.

Following their midweek encounter against Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool team are up next for Spurs at Anfield in what could be a rather interesting game. Last meeting in September, Tottenham recorded all three points after Joel Matip's stoppage-time own goal saw Postecoglou's team run out 2-1 winners.

Another victory is a must for Tottenham if they are to be in next season's Champions League, with the Reds also in need of the points as they look to up keep in touch with Man City and Arsenal in the title race. So what team could Postecoglou select to face Liverpool with the Australian likely to make changes? Our football.london reporters have named the team selections they would go with for Sunday's 4.30pm kick-off below.

Rob Guest - Football writer

Ange Postecoglou will almost certainly tinker with his Tottenham XI to face Liverpool this weekend as the team's display at Chelsea was simply not good enough. The changes will come in midfield and attack, though, with defence likely to remain the same and Guglielmo Vicario starting in goal as ever.

The first alteration in midfield will see Rodrigo Bentancur come back into the team in place of Pape Matar Sarr as the Senegal ace struggled in his pitch time at Stamford Bridge. Postecoglou then has a call to make over whether Yves Bissouma remains in the team or he's replaced by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Giovani Lo Celso impressed in his little minutes at Chelsea and deserves a start given Spurs' recent woes and James Maddison's poor form. That in turn will see Dejan Kulusevski move back to the right flank from the No.10 role, thus joining Richarlison and Son Heung-min in attack.

Guest's team: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson; Bissouma, Bentancur, Lo Celso; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son.

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Lee Wilmot - Head of Football

Tottenham are not playing very well at the moment, let's get that straight. Ange Postecoglou has been chopping and changing the midfield dynamic, which is probably not helping, although in fairness to him, whichever duo he has chosen has hardly covered themselves in glory.

I'd make a change at the back against Liverpool and play Micky van de Ven at left-back. Emerson Royal was poor against Chelsea and I think Radu Dragusin deserves a chance at centre-back alongside Cristian Romero. There's more pace then to deal with Liverpool's frontline.

In midfield, it's a toss-up. I still think Rodrigo Bentancur is the best we've got and I think I'd play him alongside Pape Matar Sarr here. Then ahead of them, James Maddison has been poor and Dejan Kulusevski has been equally poor, so let's let Giovani Lo Celso show what he can do.

Up front it's Brennan Johnson and the similarly poor of late Heung-min Son either side of Richarlison, who deserves better than he got on Thursday night.

Wilmot's team: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Van de Ven; Sarr, Bentancur, Lo Celso; Johnson, Richarlison, Son.

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