After destroying Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad a couple of weeks ago, there was a general expectation that Tottenham Hotspur would go on a good run of form and climb up the Premier League table.
Unfortunately, that couldn't have been any further from the truth.
Instead, Ange Postecoglou's side drew their subsequent games before losing 1-0 to Bournemouth and blowing a two-goal lead to lose 4-3 at home to Chelsea.
Ange-Postecoglou-Spurs-Palace
There were poor performances all over the pitch for the host's during Sunday's derby defeat, but one player arguably stood out for all the wrong reasons and simply has to be dropped for tonight's must-win Europa League game against Rangers.
The Spurs star who must be dropped
So, while the likes of Pape Matar Sarr, Son Heung-min and Pedro Porro had games to forget on Sunday, the worst offender was undoubtedly Yves Bissouma.
bissouma-spurs
The former Brighton & Hove Albion star put in one of his worst performances in a Spurs shirt to date, failing to add anything in attack or defence and, worse yet, actively contributing to his team's total capitulation.
For example, in the second half, with the score at 2-1, the Mali international made the "braindead" decision, as Jamie Carragher put it, to wipe out Moises Caicedo in the box, giving away a penalty and completely changing the tide of the match.
Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma
The incident saw him receive his fifth yellow card for the league campaign, and now he'll miss the game against Southampton on the weekend. However, based on his display against the West Londoners, Postecoglou might not have picked him anyway.
Unsurprisingly, football.london's Alasdair Gold awarded him just a 3/10 at full-time and slammed him for being 'poor in possession' and simply 'daft.'
Spurs-bissouma-transfer
Overall, it was the sort of display that should see him dropped for the game this evening, especially as the atmosphere will be incredibly intense inside Ibrox.
The Spurs player to replace Bissouma
Now, there are several players Posetcoglou could start in Bissouma's place tonight, from the more attacking James Maddison to the inexperienced Lucas Bergvall.
rodrigo-bentancur-tottenham-premier-league
Nonetheless, for a game that's set to be as important and intense as this one, he has to start Rodrigo Bentancur.
The Uruguayan international is, without a doubt, still one of the club's best midfielders.
bentancur-spurs-roma-europa-league
Furthermore, as he can currently play in European competition, his inclusion in place of the Malian ace is a no-brainer.
Able to help out in defence and attack at times, we can better understand just how brilliant the 27-year-old "monster", as dubbed by Statman Dave, really is by looking at his underlying numbers.
Bentancur's FBref Scout Report
Statistics
Interceptions
Passes Attempted
Progressive Passes
Pass Completion
Shots Total
Non-Penalty Goals
Aerials Won
Tackles
All Stats via FBref
For example, according to FBref, the Nueva Helvecia-born titan sits in the top 1% of Premier League midfielders for interceptions, the top 4% for attempted passes, the top 7% for progressive passes, the top 10% for pass completion, the top 12% for total shots and the top 20% for non-penalty goals and aerial duels won, all per 90.
Moreover, with 67 senior caps for Uruguay under his belt and an impressive array of titles from his time with Juventus, he's not going to wilt or make silly mistakes due to the hostile atmosphere Rangers fans will surely create before a ball is even kicked.
Ultimately, Bissouma simply has to be dropped for tonight, and while there are some other options to replace him, the tenacity and security Bentancur brings to the team make him the obvious candidate.
serge-aurier-tottenham-hotspur-mourinho-levy-waste Related
Postecoglou may have found Tottenham's new Serge Aurier in error-prone dud
The young international has made too many mistakes for Spurs this year.