Tottenham are very used to playing on Thursday nights this season, but their first midweek fixture of December will come in the Premier League when they visit Bournemouth.
Spurs endured a difficult start to November but ended the month on a high, with a 4-0 demolition of Manchester City the climax. They started the Christmas season with a charm draw against Fulham on Sunday and need to find some consistency during the hectic winter schedule if they have any real hopes of returning to the Champions League next season.
Visiting Bournemouth is never easy, although Spurs have won on their last two trips. The Cherries have beaten Man City and north London side Arsenal at home this season and will be confident of landing another blow against one of the division’s elite sides.
Here’s how Ange Postecoglou could set up Thursday.
GK: Fraser Forster – With Guglielmo Vicario out of action for the foreseeable future, Forster has a long way to go in the starting line-up. The veteran made some fine saves against Fulham, including a fantastic reaction stop to deny Raul Jimenez.
RB: Pedro Porro – Poro was far from flawless against Arsenal loanee Rhys Nelson at the weekend and the tireless Marcus Tavernier and Milos Kerkez will test him again on Thursday night.
CB: Radu Dragusin – Evanilson won three penalties against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend and Dragusin will have to be on song to handle the tricky Brazilian. He’s not always the most assured presence at the back, but he was solid against Fulham.
CB: Ben Davies – The experienced Welshman has had to step in for Mickey van de Ven and has done an excellent job. The left central midfielder should be activated against a Bournemouth side that hasn’t been off since early October.
LB: Destiny Udogie – Udogie will be keen to provide Son Heung-min with plenty of attacking support on Thursday as they aim to overload Adam Smith’s aging legs at right-back.
CM: Dejan Kulusevski – The in-form playmaker was a surprise out of the starting line-up at the weekend and should return on Thursday. Kulusevski was SpursA standout creator in the final third of this term, flourishing in a central role.
CM: Yves Bissouma – With Rodrigo Bedancourt ruled out, Bissuma will once again anchor Spurs’ midfield. The hard-nosed Mali international always provides stability to a Tottenham engine room that likes to play on the front foot.
CM: Pope Matar Sarr – Another impressive performance against Fulham means Sarr must win a fifth consecutive start for Spurs. The all-action midfielder often flies under the radar despite performing to a consistently high standard.
RW: Brennan Johnson – That’s now a goal in the last four games for Johnson, who could snap his 7-game hitting streak from earlier in the season. Another trademark back-post finish on the weekend took his Premier League tally to six for the term.
ST: Dominic Solanke – Solanke remains a doubt for a return to Bournemouth due to illness, but the former Cherry should feature in some capacity at his old ground. This will be his first meaningful appearance against the south coast outfit.
LW: Son Heung-min – The South Korean’s four-game streak with a goal or assist for club and country ended on Sunday. But he has seven goals and two assists in 12 previous duels with the Cherries.
