Tottenham make the trip to Preston North End in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday and Antonio Conte is expected to make changes to his side to face the Championship team.
Spurs visit Deepdale for the first time since 2009 on Saturday evening and following Monday's 1-0 win at Fulham, Conte can either go strong or make changes because the north London club will not be back in action until next Sunday when they host Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It is a game Conte and the players will not be taking lightly after their FA Cup exit at Championship side Middlesbrough last March. The Tottenham boss has to balance picking a strong team, which he can because of that gap between fixtures, but also giving some minutes to others to ensure they are sharper if called upon in the weeks to come.
READ MORE: Cristian Stellini pinpoints what Djed Spence must improve on to impress Antonio Conte
His assistant boss Cristian Stellini seemed to suggest that Harry Kane might not start at Deepdale after only returning to training for the first time this week on Friday following the fever and illness he was suffering with against Fulham. Stellini also appeared to indicate that new signing Arnaut Danjuma might not be quite ready yet to start.
Elsewhere, Fraser Forster needs a game as do Davinson Sanchez, Bryan Gil and Yves Bissouma among others. It could be the perfect time to hand Richarlison his first start since his injury with Kane given a rest on the bench, although it could be notable that the Brazilian did not travel with the team to Preston on Friday and instead watched Lucas Moura's return with the U21s. That is despite Stellini saying Kane was the only concern.
Conte may then decide between Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur to play alongside Bissouma and the latter could get the nod if Conte feels he needs more minutes in his legs while the Dane could do with a rest.
Here's the team we reckon Conte could select:
3-4-3: Forster; Sanchez, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Bissouma, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Son, Gil.
READ NEXT:
- Daniel Levy, Antonio Conte and a defining fortnight for Tottenham Hotspur
- Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici have Tottenham transfer duty as Conte shares special Sarr moment
- Tottenham issue statement after Aaron Ramsdale incident at end of North London Derby vs Arsenal
- Every word Conte said on Spurs' Arsenal defeat, Hugo Lloris error and supporter kicking Ramsdale
- The Pedro Porro problem, that Qatar meeting and Leandro Trossard - Tottenham behind the scenes
