Antonio Conte's Tottenham side will return to Premier League action two weeks today with a Boxing Day clash at Brentford on the agenda. Securing all three points against Leeds United in their final match before league action paused for the World Cup, Spurs will be looking to carry on from where they left off as the top-four race hots up.
Slipping up in October and November with defeats against top-four rivals Arsenal, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Liverpool, Spurs know full well they cannot afford for the same to happen again in 2023 or it could prove costly to their Champions League ambitions come May. The Lilywhites do have a tough task on their hands on Boxing Day as they resume league action with a tricky tie at Brentford.
The Bees sit in 10th after a decent start to the season and have so far only lost one of their first seven games at home in 2022/23. What makes things even harder for Spurs is that they are going to have to secure a win in west London without influential midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.
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The January signing has been instrumental to the team's success ever since signing from Juventus at the start of the year and has continued to go from strength to strength. Immediately taking to life in the Premier League and delivering top performances, Bentancur's importance to the team was clear for all to see in the final month of action before the break in play.
Wowing with some eye-catching displays in the heart of midfield, the Uruguayan, who sustained an injury in his country's final game at the World Cup, also chipped in with four vital goals to keep Spurs on track. Firstly nodding in a crucial equaliser in their Champions League home tie vs Sporting CP, three days later he netted a stoppage-time winner after the team came back from two goals down at Bournemouth.
The game at the Vitality Stadium once again outlined his importance as he came on for the final 32 minutes and ensured the team gained control in the middle to help turn the game on its head. The goals continued to flow for Bentancur in the thrilling 4-3 win over Leeds United, scoring two goals in two minutes as they came from behind three times to win thanks to his double in the closing stages.
The win against the West Yorkshire club also saw the player pick up his fifth booking of the season, which meant he would have been ruled out of the game against Brentford through suspension, regardless of his injury. A player Conte relies on heavily going on the amount of minutes he's played this campaign, the head coach now has to find his ideal replacement for the Boxing Day clash.
Returning to Hotspur Way in the final week of November to recommence their training ahead of the restart, those at the club's training base have two more weeks to make their case to Conte. Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp have been back since the first day after not playing international action last month.
Both played in Friday's behind-closed-doors friendly match against Motherwell, a game in which Tottenham ran out comfortable 4-0 winners. Bissouma caught the eye with a bright performance in midfield as he linked up well with those around him thanks to his pinpoint passing, with Skipp keeping the ball ticking over and putting himself about with some tough tackles on his opponents.
Although Tottenham fans have yet to see the real Bissouma following his summer switch from Brighton & Hove Albion, he has featured in all but one Premier League match and has started to look more like the player that came to everyone's attention at the Amex. Skipp, on the other hand, has had to bide his time on the bench with only six Premier League appearances coming his way, two of which were starts.
Incredibly unlucky with injury striking him once again in pre-season after missing the majority of the second part of the 2021/22 campaign, Skipp really needs to use the next fortnight at Hotspur Way to put himself firmly in Conte's mind prior to the trip across the capital. Conte has two excellent options to choose from as his Bentancur replacement and whoever is selected at Brentford must demonstrate that they can take on the mantle more often as there cannot be a huge overreliance on the Uruguayan once again.
With two more weeks to decide on his team, what happens on the training ground and in the Nice friendly could help Conte find his ideal replacement for his Tottenham undroppable.
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