Antonio Conte must decide just how strong to go with his Tottenham Hotspur side as they travel to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup third round.
Spurs take on the Premier League's bottom side in the competition with the hosts expected to change up their team ahead of their league clash at home against Crystal Palace on Saturday. For the visitors, Conte wants to ensure Tottenham get through to the next round of the Carabao Cup as one avenue for the north London club to finally end their trophy drought.
That means the Spurs head coach must balance resting a few key players to face Leeds on Saturday with picking a team that has a strong spine to it. When asked whether Harry Kane would start the match, assistant head coach Cristian Stellini said on Tuesday that Conte would make decisions on a few players based on how much they had recovered by Wednesday morning.
READ MORE: Every word Cristian Stellini said on right time for Djed Spence and Tottenham's style of play
Richarlison is back in training but after just two sessions with the team is only likely to be ready for a bench role, while Stellini said they would be playing it cautiously with Dejan Kulusevski, who returned to the bench and provided an assist in Saturday's defeat against Liverpool.
Stellini seemed to indicate that the Tottenham fans might not get their wish to see Djed Spence in action from the start, telling football.london: "We are happy with Djed. Really happy because he works hard, but he needs time and we need to take the right decision for him. Sometimes with young players you have to be careful. If you hurry to use this type of player you can create a problem for them. So when will be the right time, Djed Spence will play."
Another summer arrival Fraser Forster could make his Tottenham debut in goal though, while Lucas Moura's problematic inflamed tendon could see him getting minutes rather than a start.
Here is the team we reckon Conte will select with a strong bench to change things in the second half:
3-5-2: Forster; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Doherty, Skipp, Bissouma, Hojbjerg, Sessegnon; Kane, Perisic.
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