We are now five days away from Tottenham starting their 2022/23 Premier League campaign with a home game against Southampton. Securing Champions League football on the final day back in May, much is expected of Antonio Conte's side heading into the new season.
The Lilywhites have signed six new players this summer, giving the head coach the strength in depth he requires to challenge for major honours. The new arrivals mean Conte has a lot more choice than only a few months ago and that in turn is going to give him plenty of decisions to make in terms of his team on a weekly basis.
So which positions are set in stone and which are up for grabs in Conte's Tottenham XI against Southampton? football.london takes a look.
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Goalkeeper
This position just isn't up for debate as Hugo Lloris will, as ever, start between the sticks for the Lilywhites.
Centre-back
Conte had a simple call in terms of his back three last season but Spurs' transfer business this summer has now given him a bit of a selection headache. Cristian Romero and Eric Dier will start against Southampton, with question marks then surrounding who will get the nod on the left of defence.
Much may depend on Ben Davies' fitness as he only played 40 minutes in pre-season after sustaining an ankle injury late on against Sevilla. The Welshman was back in the squad last Saturday against Roma but he wasn't risked by Conte as he still feels a bit of pain in his ankle.
Davinson Sanchez, who is much better operating on the right of the three, played on the left in all four pre-season fixtures, while Clement Lenglet took his chance there in the second half against Roma. The good thing is the boss certainly has options there going into this weekend.
Right wing-back
It's also not clear who will start at right wing-back this weekend against Southampton despite strengthening the position ahead of the new campaign. Djed Spence has arrived from Middlesbrough but has only played 19 minutes for his new club so far.
Given the new man was an unused substitute against Roma, it's hard to see him starting on the opening day due to his lack of match action in a Spurs shirt and experience in the Premier League. That may mean it is between Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal for the starting spot unless Conte springs a major surprise and plays Lucas Moura there.
Doherty was a success in the right wing-back position from February until he injured his knee at Villa in early April, contributing with two goals and three assists in that period as he started to recapture the form he showed at Wolves. Certainly more suited to the role than Emerson, the Republic of Ireland may be leading the way at present but it's definitely not set in stone.
Central midfield
The addition of Yves Bissouma means Conte has four quality options to select from in midfield ahead of the new season. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg may have appeared as the midfielder most likely to miss out on the XI following the signing of the Mali international from Brighton but the Dane has in fact featured heavily in pre-season.
Hojbjerg started three out of their four games and played 289 minutes in total, with Rodrigo Bentancur next in line on 180 minutes. That may indicate that he is Conte's first-choice central midfielder, leaving Bentancur, Bissouma and Oliver Skipp fighting it out for a starting spot against Southampton.
As Bentancur played a pivotal role in Tottenham clinching a top-four place last season, it's incredibly hard to see him not starting at the weekend. Bissouma will have to watch on from the sidelines on Saturday afternoon to begin with if that is the case but Conte could decide to throw him in from the off given his qualities.
Left wing-back
Ivan Perisic may have secured the left wing-back berth for the Southampton game after an impressive performance in the defeat against Roma. Doing well off the bench at Rangers a week earlier, the Croat was heavily involved vs the Giallorossi and demonstrated what exactly he will bring to the team in an attacking sense.
Always very high up the pitch and linking up well with his teammates, the experienced player also had a handful of attempts on goal that weren't so far away. Perisic offers a lot more than Ryan Sessegnon down the left and he now looks to be leading the race for the starting spot.
Conte did indicate after Saturday's game that "he's not the Ivan Perisic I know" when speaking about the new signing, thus meaning there is so much more to come from him once he's fully recovered from the calf issue he picked up in May.
Attack
It's a very simple decision for Conte to make this weekend as new signing Richarlison is suspended for the opening game. Dejan Kulusevski, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min will lead the line and look to get Spurs off to the perfect start.
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