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·4 décembre 2024
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·4 décembre 2024
Tottenham are well accustomed to playing on Thursday nights this season but their first midweek clash of December will come in the Premier League when they visit Bournemouth.
Spurs endured a difficult start to November but finished the month on a high, with a 4-0 demolition of Manchester City the highlight. They started the Christmas period with an underwhelming draw against Fulham on Sunday and must find some consistency during the hectic winter schedule if they have genuine hopes of returning to the Champions League next season.
Visiting Bournemouth is never straightforward, although Spurs have won on their last two trips. The Cherries have beaten Man City and Tottenham's north London rivals Arsenal on home soil this season and will be confident of delivering another blow to one of the division's elite sides.
Here is how Ange Postecoglou could set up on Thursday.
Dominic Solanke is a doubt to feature / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
GK: Fraser Forster - With Guglielmo Vicario sidelined for the foreseeable future, Forster is in the midst of a lengthy run in the starting lineup. The veteran made some fine saves against Fulham, including a fantastic reaction stop to deny Raul Jimenez.
RB: Pedro Porro - Porro was not flawless against Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson at the weekend and the indefatigable Marcus Tavernier and overlapping 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 in the backline but he was solid against Fulham.
CB: Ben Davies - The experienced Welshman has been needed to step in for Micky van de Ven and he's done an exceptional job. The left-sided centre-half will need to be switched on against a Bournemouth side that haven't blanked since early October.
LB: Destiny Udogie - Udogie will be keen to provide Son Heung-min with plenty of offensive support on Thursday as they aim to overload the ageing legs of Adam Smith at right-back.
CM: Dejan Kulusevski - The in-form playmaker was a surprise omission from the starting XI at the weekend and must return on Thursday. Kulusevski has been Spurs' standout creator in the final third this term, blossoming in a central role.
CM: Yves Bissouma - With Rodrigo Bentancur suspended, Bissouma will again anchor the Spurs midfield. The tough-tackling Mali international always provides solidity to a Tottenham engine room that likes to play on the front foot.
CM: Pape Matar Sarr - Another impressive performance against Fulham means Sarr should earn a fifth straight start for Spurs. The all-action midfielder often flies under the radar despite performing at a consistently high standard.
RW: Brennan Johnson - That's now a goal in the last four games for Johnson, who could beat his seven-game scoring streak from earlier in the campaign. Another trademark back-post finish at 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 stomping ground. This will be his first meaningful appearance against the south coast outfit.
LW: Son Heung-min - The South Korean's run of four games with either a goal or assist for club and country came to an end on Sunday. He has seven goals and two assists in 12 past duels with the Cherries, though.