The rotation question
Antonio Conte was always expected to rotate his Tottenham XI for Tuesday's Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt following the North London Derby defeat at Arsenal. However, that was not the case as the Italian stuck with the side that lost 3-1 at the Emirates.
That meant Emerson Royal kept his place at right wing-back instead of either Matt Doherty or Djed Spence coming into the Tottenham team, with Yves Bissouma remaining on the bench once again. With many fans clearly frustrated by the performance in north London on Saturday and the team's setup, it's fair to say the team news didn't go down too well with many.
Although Conte's decision did give those involved from the start at Arsenal a big opportunity to improve, his selection does raise the question of rotation in this busy period as he stated before the international break that he would have to rotate in order to keep everybody fresh. That may now have to be in Saturday's game away at Brighton & Hove Albion unless he opts to keep faith with the same group of players at the Amex before alternating next week when Eintracht Frankfurt visit N17.
READ MORE: Tottenham player ratings: Kane missing final touch, Lloris kicking poor and quiet Richarlison
The absent player
Spurs were handed a boost ahead of kick-off with Ben Davies returning to the squad for the first time since sustaining a knee injury in the Champions League defeat at Sporting CP. One of the 12 substitutes available to Conte, the bench did have a very defensive look about it, with Bryan Gil the only attacker included due to injuries to Lucas Moura and Dejan Kulusevski.
One player who did not make the squad, however, was Japhet Tanganga. football.london understands that the defender's absence was unfortunately down to injury.
Not having the best of luck on the injury front over the past few seasons and missing plenty of football in the process, another setback is the last thing the player needs right now after one substitute appearance so far in 2022/23. Already having a couple of injury issues to contend with, Conte could certainly do without anymore at present.
Eye-catching play but final action missing
Tottenham may not have managed to net at Deutsche Bank Park but opportunities were there for them, notably in the first half, following some eye-catching play. Not far away early on with Emerson volleying over Eric Dier's terrific pass after making a brilliant run, Harry Kane and Cristian Romero were then inches away from connecting with Son Heung-min's inviting cross.
Just past the midway point of the first half, Son's dummy and spin saw him link up really well with Richarlison but the South Korean's cross was at a difficult height for Kane to convert. Having seen the duo both shoot wide after teaming up well with each other, Spurs were at it again not long before the break as Ivan Perisic's low effort was deflected wide after Richarlison and Emerson combined to create a good opening.
Certainly positives to take and an improved showing on the Arsenal defeat, the combinations between the players were there but the final action, as it has been numerous times this term, was missing. It's something Spurs need to work on and fast.
Hope for Gil
Conte has a lack of options when it comes to his attackers at present. Without Lucas since the middle of August, Spurs were handed a blow ahead of the Arsenal game with Kulusevski picking up an injury on international duty.
Although the boss does have Perisic who can play further forward if required, Gil is the only natural out-and-out winger available to the boss at present. Not featuring for the Lilywhites in a first-team game since the Premier League defeat at Chelsea towards the end of January, the Spaniard was introduced for the final 12 minutes.
Not exactly a lot of time for a player to get into the action, Gil saw plenty of the ball but lost it on a few occasions, with his passes not finding their intended target. He did, however, wow with a lovely piece of play in the corner of the pitch to beat his marker following some lovely skill to get out of trouble in his own half.
Maybe not the minutes he wants on the pitch for Tottenham at present, his introduction at least gives him hope that more chances will come his way in the coming weeks. After all, one opportunity from the bench could be all the player needs to show Conte that he can more than play a part for Spurs.
A missed opportunity
Appearing to be a favourable Champions League group for Tottenham when the draw was made at the end of August, it does look like Group D will go right down to the wire. Going into matchday three with Sporting CP top of the group after winning their first two games, the Portuguese side's unbeaten start came to an end in the early kick-off with Marseille securing a 4-1 home win.
Tottenham and Frankfurt weren't able to capitalise on Sporting's loss as they played out a 0-0 draw, thus leaving them on four points and two behind the group leaders. Marseille still remain bottom despite their victory but they have upped the pressure on their rivals and are now only one point behind.
With Spurs having two home and one away game left to seal their place in the knockout phase, hopefully their draw in Frankfurt won't come back to bite them as they did have chances throughout the contest. On a another night they may have won comfortably but instead it was a missed opportunity given the openings on goal that came their way.
There's no room for error with the group so tight heading into the final three matches.
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