Tottenham have been boosted by the dual availability of Destiny Udogie and Rodrigo Bentancur ahead of Nottingham Forest
Tottenham Hotspur were blown away 6-3 by Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday.
After back-to-back wins over Southampton and Manchester United, Spurs hoped to build on the momentum by beating Liverpool. However, it didn’t pan out the way they thought, and the defeat left Ange Postecoglou’s men 11th in the table.
With games coming thick and fast, the Lilywhites don’t have time to lick on their wounds and must concentrate on the upcoming trip to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day. Spurs have already received a double boost ahead of the game. Destiny Udogie should be fit to feature against Nottingham Forest, while Rodrigo Bentancur returns after serving a seven-game domestic ban.
Ange Postecoglou calms Tottenham injury fears regarding Destiny Udogie.
Destiny Udogie is fit to face Nottingham Forest after being an unused substitute vs Liverpool
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Udogie has been a regular under Ange Postecoglou and has certainly been a miss from the starting XI in the last couple of games. The left-back was not 100 per cent fit and subsequently didn’t feature in the defeat against Liverpool but has been covered well by the versatile Djed Spence.
Bentancur, meanwhile, has been a huge miss for the North Londoners in recent weeks. The South American has left a big hole in Spurs’ midfield whilst he has been away, with Yves Bissouma failing to deputise in the No.6 role.
With both Udogie and Bentancur available to face Forest, Big Ange could make some changes to that starting XI that lost to Arne Slot’s side on Sunday. And ex-Tottenham scout Bryan King has suggested Udogie could start in central defence at City Ground in midweek.
“He doesn’t have many options to make changes,” Bryan King exclusively told Tottenham News.
“His two main defenders are out, the goalkeeper is out. As a result, that entire back five looks uncomfortable. Perhaps Udogie could start alongside Radu Dragusin at centre-back? He’s a good size Udogie, he could certainly play in that position, as a left-sided centre-back.
“That would mean a back four of Pedro Porro, Udogie, Dragusin and Djed Spence. This is going to be a difficult game against Forest. They have got real quality, and Chris Wood has proven a handful this season.”
Archie Gray has performed admirably well in a makeshift centre-back role in recent games
Spurs have been hit severely in defence, with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies all currently on the sidelines. No.1 Guglielmo Vicario is a long-term casualty following ankle surgery. This has forced Big Ange into utilising young midfielder Archie Gray in an unfamiliar centre-back role alongside Dragusin.
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Archie Gray has been one of the better performers for Tottenham in recent games. The teenager held his own amid Spurs’ heavy defeat to Liverpool, further underlining his versatility. A midfielder by trade, the Durham-born talent has shown great maturity and performed admirably well in an unknown role in central defence in the key absences of Romero, Van de Ven and Davies.
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Thus, with all due respect to Bryan King, we don’t think Udogie has any chance to operate at centre-half against Forest. It is likely to be Gray continuing besides Dragusin at the heart of Tottenham’s defence.