It would be a first of the season, but a Tottenham Hotspur without Son Heung-Min in the starting lineup looks more and more the preference as Antonio Conte and co. travel to Sporting Clube de Portugal in their Champions League clash on Tuesday evening.
According to fans, an attacking triumvirate of Harry Kane, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison should start. It’s difficult to argue with Richarlison’s current rousing form and the visible anonymity that has come to define Son's start to the 2022/23 season. The Brazilian's two headers against Marseille were pivotal and culminated in an emotional moment with his parents post-match. Conte's press conference comments laid the foundations for what could be the season's first Son-less Spurs team selection.
READ MORE: Tottenham predicted team vs Sporting: Antonio Conte makes key change to Champions League line-up
Meanwhile, Kulusevski has impressed off the bench in his two most recent outings, and many would like to see the Swede brought back into the reckoning as just reward.
But it is not just in attack that fans have urged Conte to shake things up.
After consecutive starts against Fulham and Marseille respectively, Clément Lenglet has been touted for a third start at the left side of Spurs' back three ahead of Welsh stalwart Ben Davies.
Given the unprecedented strength in depth at Conte's disposal and the weekend's league clash with Leicester, Emerson Royal has been relieved of wing-back duties in lieu of Matt Doherty despite the Irishman playing only eight minutes in all competitions this season, perhaps somewhat of a surprise pick from the Lilywhites faithful.
A victory over Sporting shifts Spurs into a promising position in their Champions League group, with the previous weekend's postponed clash with Manchester City granting players an unanticipated longer recovery, the lengths to which Conte opts to twist rather than stick with his starting XI in will be intriguing.
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