Tottenham Hotspur will look to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup and boost their chances of winning their first major trophy since 2008 when they face Swansea City at the quarter-final stage of the competition at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, on the back of a bittersweet 4-1 victory against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League last weekend.
Spurs had fallen behind to Junior Stanislas’ goal in the seventh minute, but a goals from Dele Alli, Serge Aurier and a brace from Son Heung-Min saw the north London outfit eventually run out comfortable 4-1 winners on the south coast, with the South Korean continuing to impress the fans with his displays.
However, the triumph and cementing their spot in the top four in the English top flight came at a cost as they lost Harry Kane to injury, with the England international being ruled out for up to six weeks with an ankle injury.
Having been knocked out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage by Juventus last weekend, Mauricio Pochettino will be even more determined to lead the club to their first silverware in a decade via the FA Cup, and they can move a step closer to doing that with victory in south Wales.
It certainly won’t be an easy task against Carlos Carvalhal’s men however, with the Swans winning seven successive matches on their own patch since a 2-0 loss to Tottenham on January 2.
The Argentine boss will have to make at least one enforced change to the XI that recorded a comfortable success against Bournemouth and will be considering others too, and he can definitely seal their semi-final spot by making a couple of important alterations to his team.
Here are two big changes the 46-year-old must make when Tottenham face Swansea…
Kane suffered an ankle injury in the win against Bournemouth which will see him miss this clash, and probably the semi-final too if they do see off Swansea this weekend.
It leaves Pochettino with a decision to make up top and he will either choose to play former Swans striker Fernando Llorente, which may not be a popular decision with the fans, or he could play the in-form Son Heung-Min up top after he netted seven goals in the club’s last four matches in all competitions.
Playing the South Korean in the centre-forward spot would allow the Argentine boss to bring Lamela into the team out wide, and he will want to make a big impression at the Liberty Stadium to ensure he keeps his spot in the side in the future with Lucas Moura for competition.
Alli suffered a slight groin strain in the win against Bournemouth and was replaced by Moussa Sissoko in the 86th minute, and while he got back on the score-sheet at the Vitality Stadium this would be a great opportunity for Pochettino to rest him from the XI, considering he has come under criticism from Spurs fans in recent weeks.
With Kane potentially missing until the end of April the Argentine boss won’t want to risk losing Alli to a long-term injury as well as he looks to secure a top four finish in the Premier League, and he has the strength in depth in his squad to make sure that isn’t the case.
Lucas has only made two substitute appearances in the Premier League following his January move from Paris Saint-Germain, but he has started twice in the FA Cup and assisted twice in the 6-1 win against Rochdale in the previous round, and like Lamela he will be out to prove to Pochettino that he deserves a place in the XI if he gets the nod in south Wales.
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