Tottenham’s Predicted XI against Gillingham
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Former Tottenham player Justin Edinburgh brings his Gillingham side to White Hart Lane on Wednesday in the hope of repeating the feat they achieved in the last round, namely knocking another Premier League side out of the competition.
For Mauricio Pochettino this match gives him the chance to rotate the side and give games to some of his fringe players. With injuries to Harry Kane, Moussa Dembele and Eric Dier in the match against Sunderland, it will be good to see how the players just outside the first XI do as they could be called upon in future Premier League games.
He won’t just throw in the youngsters though, he’ll balance that out with a few wiser heads to try to ensure that we do progress to the next round of the League Cup.
Let’s take a look at the possible starting XI for the match against Gillingham and a look at each players background.
Michel Vorm
One of the few experienced heads in this predicted XI, Michel Vorm will hopefully be able to show us more of the form he displayed early in the season when he covered for Hugo Lloris.
Not the tallest keeper about and not always the most error-free but this is about as good a backup keeper as you’ll find in the Premier League.
This will be his 23rd appearance for the club and he may find his place as the clubs “cup keeper” under threat with the arrival of Pau Lopez from Espanyol.
Kieran Trippier
Kieran Trippier was always likely to play in this game but when Kyle Walker grabbed the back of his leg against Sunderland, this selection became a near certainty.
Our £3.5m bargain purchase from Burnley in the summer of 2015 has proved to be a very useful player. He had some issues in his first few starts but settled down and showed exactly why we bought him with some pinpoint crosses from the right.
Although he’s not quite as dynamic as Kyle Walker, he is probably the best crosser of a ball at the club and that could work well with Vincent Janssen also likely to start.
Cameron Carter-Vickers
Despite the fact he was born in Southend and is just 18, Cameron Carter-Vickers has already made his debut for the United States Under 23 side (he qualifies through his father). If he starts this match then he will be making his debut at senior level for the club and taking the next step in his career.
Some have said he’s the most highly rated centre-back to come through our academy since Ledley King, fine praise indeed, and he certainly looked every inch a Premier League player in the preseason friendlies this summer.
Kevin Wimmer
Kevin Wimmer’s absence from any match day squads was the source of much debate before he showed up on the bench on Sunday. He turned up to a press conference with a black eye which led to speculation about a serious concussion. If that was the case then I hope he’s got the all clear as this Swiss centre-back was unlucky to lose his spot in the side to Jan Vertonghen last season after putting in a string of good performances.
He’s recently signed a new 5 year deal with the club and will be looking to make his 22nd club appearance against Gillingham.
Ben Davies
Our Welsh left back has had a mixed time at Spurs since joining from Swansea in a double deal with Michel Vorm. At times he’s looked excellent, marauding down the left-hand side of the pitch and providing a good balance to the team. In other games he’s looked shakey and made mistakes (like the one that nearly saw him sent off gainst Sunderland).
He had made 56 appearances for the club before the start of his season and with Danny Rose likely to be out for a little time longer, he’s also due to start this League Cup match against Gillingham. His only real competition is Kyle Walker-Peters who played 90 minutes in our Premier League 2 match on Monday night so is unlikely to start in this one.
Victor Wanyama
One of our summer signings, Victor Wanyama has been a regular in our Premier League sides and with Eric Dier unlikely to be risked, is almost guaranteed to start this one.
Wanyama may not be the best passer of a ball at the club but he’s a strong ball winning midfielder and does exactly what we need him to. In the current world of Premier League transfers, he’s a bargain at £11m as well.
We were crying out for defensive midfield cover last season and Victor Wanyama gives us exactly that.
Harry Winks
Our young midfielder is likely to make his first start for the club and fifth appearance in total against Gillingham on Wednesday. I’m sure this will be a difficult selection as Tom Carroll is also in contention for a start but despite being several years younger, I feel Harry Winks is a more developed player than Carroll and it’s about time he got the chance to show what he can do in the first team.
Winks has bulked out a bit over the last year (he really needed to) and although he’s still not the biggest, he looks more prepared to cut it against the big boys.
Moussa Sissoko
Sissoko is not the player I wanted us to sign this summer but you can see he offers direct running to the side and also a fair bit of experience. I think that Lamela is still ahead of him in the pecking order (and rightly so) for the right sided midfielder/attacker spot but games like this are perfect for him and hopefully he will be a driving force in our win and progression to the next round.
Christian Eriksen
Another player that has recently extended his contract. Christian Eriksen is now signed up until 2020 and hopefully he can now get his head down and concentrate on playing football as he hasn’t been at his best this season. I think he was left out of the side that faced Sunderland because Pochettino knew we would need some experience in the side for this game.
At his best he’s unstoppable with some cracking balls for the forwards and devastating free kicks, at his worst he’s a passenger and a liability to the side. Let’s hope the former shows up on Wednesday.
Georges-Kevin N'Koudou
The subject (victim?) of one of the most drawn out transfers in the history of the club. Georges-Kevin N’Koudou (or GK as he likes to be called) spent weeks cooling his heels in a London hotel waiting for his transfer to go through.
Finally everything was settled and now maybe we’ll get the chance to see what all the fuss was about.
A fast winger with an eye for goal, GK will offer us something very different as he likes to get wide and take his man on.
Vincent Janssen
It’s been a slow start for Vincent Janssen since his move from AZ Alkmaar this summer but after Kane’s injury against Sunderland he’s going to be needed for this game and quite possibly the 6-7 games after that.
Hopefully he’ll get a goal to silence some of the doubters. He’s snatched at chances so far but was a slow starter at both of his previous clubs and should come good with us as well.
This game against Gillingham should suit him down to the ground and if Trippier and GK do start, he should get plenty of crosses to attack.
Subs
Pau Lopez – Recent loan signing from Espanyol.
Jan Vertonghen – Played at left back against Sunderland but needed for the Premier League campaign. Here to offer experience if necessary.
Kyle Walker-Peters – Played 90 minutes on Monday night but can cover both right and left back. Unlikely to get on but decent experience for him on the bench.
Marcus Edwards – Another one to play 90 minutes on Monday night but this kid may get on the pitch if we’re winning comfortably.
Josh Onomah – Perhaps unlucky not to be starting this match but could come on to make his 23rd appearance for the club at some point.
Tom Carroll – The holder of a new 3-year contract. Tom may even make the starting XI.
Shayon Harrison – With Harry Kane injured, Shayon Harrison is immediately elevated to the first team to back-up Vincent Janssen.