Ange Postecoglou will be in a dilemma whether to start a strong Tottenham Hotspur side vs Aston Villa on Friday
Tottenham Hotspur are facing a crisis ahead of their UEFA Europa League final against Manchester United next week, with several key players missing already.
On Wednesday, Spurs were dealt a big blow when Dejan Kulusevski was ruled out of the Europa League final after undergoing knee surgery. Having gone under the knife, Kulusevski has now joined James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall on the sidelines, leaving Ange Postecoglou paper thin as far as the options in the middle of the park is concerned.
Before the Lilywhites take on Man United in Bilbao on May 21, they face a trip to Aston Villa on Friday evening. Ange Postecoglou’s side have nothing left to play in the Premier League and currently lie 17th in the table, but Aston Villa have a great opportunity to qualify for next term’s Champions League.
Tottenham will be trying to protect his key players ahead of the Europa League final vs Manchester United
Thus, Ange Postecoglou will be in a dilemma regarding his team selection, particularly amid the injury issues piling up. The 59-year-old would want to give his star players some game time to make sure they are fit and match sharp for the final at San Mames, but at the same time, would be desperate to see them not sustain any injuries.
BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton feels the Tottenham gaffer will be ‘scared’ of being criticised if he names a strong starting XI vs Aston Villa and one of them picks up an injury. However, he is of the opinion that the likes of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven may not mind risking themselves at Villa Park on Friday to get much-needed momentum for the big European final next week.
“Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou does not want anyone to get injured but the flip side to leaving key people out is that you want to go into a big game with a bit of momentum, and Tottenham do not have any,” Sutton wrote on BBC Sport.
“I put myself in a position of a Spurs player, and if I am Micky van de Ven or Cristian Romero, I would want to play against Villa and I would want to take that risk.
“But what Postecoglou is scared of, naturally, is if something happens to one of them, because then he would be asked ‘why on earth did you do that?’
“So, we know what he will do and, because of that, you can’t make a case for Tottenham beating Villa, or getting anything at all from this game.”
Cristian Romero with Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou
Captain Son Heung-min returned to action as a substitute in the last game against Crystal Palace on Sunday and could be handed a start vs Villa to get more match rhythm before the final, but Postecoglou will certainly be apprehensive over starting Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven together.
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Considering he has lost three key players to injuries, the Greek-Aussie tactician will try his best to protect some of his stars. Surely, he’d be considering making changes to the starting XI that lost 2-0 to Palace at home last weekend, and only time will tell whether both Romero and Van de Ven start against Emery’s side.