Tottenham Hotspur will look to put their fans in the festive spirit when they travel to Nottingham Forest at 3:oopm on boxing day. Liverpool played the role of the Grinch on Sunday as they put six past Ange Postecoglou’s makeshift defence and ended the home side’s three-game unbeaten run. Here is our Tottenham Hotspur predicted lineup as The Lilywhites battle with Nuno Espirito Santo’s high-flying team.
Tottenham Hotspur Predicted Lineup Vs Nottingham Forest For Dec. 26
How Tottenham Have Lined Up Recently
Postecoglou stuck with the players that impressed in big wins over Manchester United and Southampton. Fraser Forster kept his place despite an error-prone display against The Red Devils. The former Celtic goalkeeper made six saves but conceded as many as Tottenham’s defence struggled to deal with Liverpool’s clinical attack.
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Radu Dragusin, Spurs’ only fit centre-back, found things difficult. The 22-year-old failed to make a tackle and only won one duel. Archie Gray’s inexperience was exposed by an unforgiving Liverpool attack. Dominic Szoboszlai was lively throughout and gave the two Tottenham centre-backs too much to deal with. Despite coming up against Mo Salah, Djed Spence can hold his head up high. He evaded the visitor’s press well, completing 94% of his passes.
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In midfield, Yves Bissouma demonstrated why Spurs will be celebrating the return of Rodrigo Bentancur from suspension this weekend. The Mali international only won 50% of his duels and lost possession 12 times. Pape Matar Sarr equally struggled as Tottenham failed to keep up with Liverpool’s energetic engine room. James Maddison scored his third goal in as many games in a good overall performance.
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Star Heung-min Son had a quiet game, having only one shot in his 82 minutes. Dejan Kulusevski scored for the fifth straight game from the right wing. His current form is keeping Tottenham’s second-highest league scorer, Brennan Johnson, out of the team. Dominic Solanke scored his sixth Premier League goal for Spurs in the 83rd minute. However, the goal only brought back a little bit of respect for his already defeated side.
Tottenham’s Recent Form and Tactics
Tottenham’s form this season has been very inconsistent. In the Premier League, they have lost more games than they have won but have a goal difference of 14, only beaten by the top three teams in the division. Their previously solid defensive record has been destroyed since Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero went down with injuries.
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Spurs sit 11th in the league but are only eight points away from Forest in fourth. A win here would put Tottenham back in the race for Europe so Postecoglou needs to get his selection right. He will likely stick with his trusted 4-3-3 formation and the return of Bentancur may see the Australian move to a more attacking midfield involving both Maddison and Kulusevski. This would allow Johnson to start against his former club.
Tottenham Injuries and Suspensions to Consider
Tottenham continue to fight through a list of selection problems. One player who could have thrived during this spell is Mikey Moore. However, the 17-year-old has been suffering from an illness and has only just returned to training. Spurs fans can expect his return over the next few weeks once his match fitness returns.
Other Spurs absentees are Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Richarlison (thigh), Ben Davies (thigh), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Romero (thigh), and Van de Ven (thigh). Tottenham will see many of these players return in January as they look to start 2025 on a high.
Tottenham Hotspur Predicted Lineup Vs Liverpool
GK: Fraser Forster
RB: Djed Spence
CB: Radu Dragusin
CB: Archie Gray
LB: Destiny Udogie
DM: Rodrigo Bentancur
CM: James Maddison
CM: Dejan Kulusevski
RW: Brennan Johnson
ST: Dominic Solanke
LW: Heung-min Son