Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday aftermppm, and Ange Postecoglou has a big call to make in terms of team selection with captain Son Heung-Min a doubt through an injury, potentially opening up a starting birth for 18-year-old midfielder Lucas Bergvall.
The Lillywhites have experienced a mixed start to the new Premier League season, accumulating seven points from their first five matches. Rampant home victories over the likes of Everton and Brentford have been overshadowed by defeats to Newcastle and Arsenal, in what has been a turbulent period for Postecoglou's men.
A trip to the north-west to face an out-of-sorts Red Devils team represents a perfect opportunity to claim a big three points and boost the morale around the north London club. However, the Australian manager may be without talisman Son, and thus ought to make the brave decision to deploy Bergvall in the starting eleven, and drop a struggling James Maddison - who Spurs have had private concerns about.
Postecoglou Should Drop Maddison
Bergvall has merited an opportunity
With United lingering just one place below Spurs in the league table, level on points, tomorrow's encounter at the Theatre of Dreams could be dubbed a European 'six-pointer' at this early stage of the season. A game of such importance will require immaculate decision-making in the team selection process for Postecoglou, with the set of options at his disposal presenting a considerable headache for the tactician.
The goalkeeper and back four is likely undisputed, with Vicario, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky Van de Ven and Destiny Udogie expected to start. In front of them, Yves Bissouma is likely to be deployed with Pape Sarr as the north Londoners look to sure things up in the middle of the park, and provide the team's high line with extra protection from United's transition-heavy attack.
In forward areas, selections get more tricky. Maddison produced an encouraging display for Spurs last time out against Brentford, although he went 0/6 with his cross attempts, but United away is a different kettle of fish. The former Leicester City man has struggled to influence proceedings on a consistent basis in big games, and thus Postecoglou should look elsewhere.
With Timo Werner out of form, Dejan Kulusevski may well be shifted out wide, to form a front three alongside Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke. This subsequently leaves the final midfield slot up for grabs, and with Maddison dropping to the bench, a role that could be filled by promising talent Bergvall, whose opportunity in midweek was cut short after 12 minutes out of necessity.
The young Swede, who has been described as "incredible", would offer similar ability on the ball with his passing but would also be less naturally inclined to burst forward and that could help to keep a rare clean sheet. With Man United's problems in front of goal well documented this season, that could be the key to victory, and bringing Maddison off the bench against tired legs and minds could help open up the game later on if needs be.
It would no doubt be a baptism of fire, but Bergvall is more than deserving of an opportunity and the situation currently demands that Postecoglou changes something to turn the club's fortunes around.
Spurs Fans Will Turn On Levy
Collymore believes the fanbase will lose patience in the Chairman
While Spurs prepare for crucial activity on the pitch, murmurings of discontent are starting to build off it. Ex-Liverpool striker and now pundit Stan Collymore believes the Tottenham faithful will turn on chairman Daniel Levy, with the executive not demonstrating enough ambition to push the club towards major silverware.
Writing in his column for CaughtOffside, Collymore said that Levy treats Spurs fans like consumers, and that this will eventually result in the Lillywhite supporters venting their frustrations. Since moving to the club's new state-of-the-art stadium, Tottenham have finished in the top four just once, and are yet to win a major trophy.