Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is now likely to axe an in-form player ahead of their Carabao Cup clash with Manchester City this evening, as team news leaks before Spurs host the Premier League champions in north London.
Tottenham suffer 1-0 Crystal Palace defeat as Postecoglou aims to bounce back
Spurs were on a steady run of good form before their disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace over the weekend, beating West Ham 4-1 in a fierce London derby the weekend prior and clinching victory against Dutch giants AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League.
However, Oliver Glasner managed to upset the apple cart by wrestling Palace's long overdue first win in the top flight this season, in what was a step back for Spurs who were aiming to go on a winning run and put their abject 3-2 loss away to Brighton firmly behind them.
The Lilywhites' loss at Selhurst is a stern reminder of Spurs' shortcomings, with Postecoglou now aiming to bounce right back against a Man City side who pose one of the toughest tests in European football.
A plus-point for Postecoglou is that Man City have won just twice at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since it's opening, with both of those coming last season in the FA Cup and Premier League respectively.
The home advantage and backing of supporters could be crucial for Spurs, especially considering Postecoglou will be forced to cope without star forward Son Heung-min yet again.
Son missed Tottenham's loss to Crystal Palace with a thigh injury and is set to be absent again tonight as Postecoglou aims to get him back for their home game against Aston Villa this weekend.
Wilson Odobert has also suffered a setback after recovering from a recent hamstring injury, which Postecoglou has described as "serious".
"Sonny, no. Well he is almost fit but we will probably from our perspective aim him for the weekend," said Postecoglou on Son's fitness.
"We're quite confident he will be right for the weekend. The only one missing out, which is a bit of a disappointment is Wilson [Odobert]. He's had a setback during the week and it seems like it's a serious one, so we're waiting for more information. And then from the weekend everyone else is okay and Djed's back training."
Postecoglou set to drop Mikey Moore for Man City clash
As per GiveMeSport, another player who may not take part is in-form teenage winger Mikey Moore, who has really impressed since being handed regular starts.
The 17-year-old was handed a chance right from the off in each of Spurs' last two games, putting in a Player of the Match display against AZ Alkmaar in particular, but it is believed Postecoglou is likely to drop Moore for Tottenham's clash with Man City - in favour of the under-performing Timo Werner.
This could be seen as a surprise decision considering their contrasting fortunes, though Postecoglou apparently doesn't want to put too much pressure on the youngster at this early stage of his career at N17.
“[He has] that young, fearless mentality and you never want to take that away from him," said James Maddison to TNT Sports on Moore, following their win over AZ.
"He’s a young kid, a brilliant lad, a lovely boy. He takes in information, and he’s got bags of ability, so I’ll be there as an older player, hopefully with some wise words to help along the way.
“He’s got all the ability. It’s just about knuckling down and working hard, which he does to be fair to him.”