Following Sunday's brilliant 1-0 win over Man City, Antonio Conte and Tottenham will be forced into one change this weekend when they travel to Leicester City. While many head coaches would have stuck with the same team going on how well they performed against the reigning champions, Cristian Romero's dismissal for two bookable offences in the closing stages means he will have to watch on from the stands.
Luckily for Conte and Tottenham, the centre-back will only miss the one game as a straight red card would have seen the World Cup winner pick up a three-match ban. So, with Romero now suspended for the trip to the King Power Stadium, Spurs must decide on their ideal replacement for the match.
Davinson Sanchez will be the favourite to come straight into the team as he has done over the course of the campaign when his teammates has been absent. The Colombian did in fact play very well in the recent FA Cup win over Preston North End and the boss will probably be keen to reward him with an opportunity in the Premier League.
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One other possible option for Conte is to play his Tottenham wildcard and utilise Emerson Royal in the right centre-back role for the first time in his Spurs career. Whereas much has been made of his struggles in the final third, the Brazilian is a very competent defender and has demonstrated that in his last three Premier League outings.
Emerson delivered his best performance in a Tottenham shirt in the victory over Man City, which resulted in him deservedly claiming the man of the match award. Always tending to fare well against the champions as the focus is very much on the defensive side of his game, he really frustrated Jack Grealish and then also contributed going forward.
His top showing also came on such an important day for him as new signing Pedro Porro was included in the matchday squad for the first time since his deadline day switch from Sporting CP. Expected to make the right wing-back position his own going forward as he has the attacking qualities to be a real asset in Conte's system, Emerson demonstrated to his competitor that he has a real battle on his hands for the starting position on a weekly basis.
Speaking to football.london after the game, Spurs assistant boss Cristian Stellini waxed lyrical about Emerson's impact on proceedings and claimed that he was "one of the most important" on the pitch for Tottenham.
"Yes Emerson was one of the most important. In the end of the game he had two or three situations and he showed his desire like all the team," explained the Italian. "It is important to have different players in the same position with different skills and you use the player when you need. Emerson showed today he is a good player.
"I think that in the Arsenal game in October, he didn't deserve a red card and he lose his place in that moment. He lost his place in that moment, a not good red card, it was not a good decision, it create for Emerson a problem and he need time to find that place because for the first six games of the season he was this player."
Ben Davies was another one to praise the ex-Barcelona man after the game as he outlined the big role his teammate played at the back to help nullify City. "It's all of the little things like Emerson with some great headers at the back post," revealed the Welshman. "He was excellent and I think that's the spirit and the mindset that we need to have."
Given his experience of playing as a right-back and his defensive nous, many fans have pointed to the prospect of Conte potentially using Emerson as a right-sided centre-back. The player has the qualities to be a success in the position and the role would also still allow him to push on and try and help in attack, just as Romero does on a weekly basis for the Lilywhites.
That in turn would open up the door for new signing Porro to come in and make his Tottenham bow. If not, the Spaniard may be waiting a while for his first start as Emerson is currently leading the way and should not be dropped from the starting XI at Leicester after what he produced in the win over Man City.
Certainly something for Conte and his team to possibly look at at some point in the not too distant future, it will all come down to whether or not they want to trial that experiment in a Premier League match. Maybe the best time to try it out is perhaps in the upcoming FA Cup fifth round clash away at either Wrexham or Sheffield United.
Quite rightly receiving the plaudits after his Man City showing, now it is about Emerson maintaining the same levels and even pushing on to greater heights. If he can do that then Porro will be hoping the head coach trials his new teammate in a back-three role sooner rather than later.
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