Cristian Stellini has been speaking to the media in advance of Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League game against West Ham on Sunday, and has touched on the matter of picking between Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr to start the game.
With Rodrigo Bentancur confirmed to be out until the end of the season with an ACL injury, and Yves Bissouma set to miss up to eight weeks of action (Alasdair Gold), Tottenham are looking a little thin in the middle of the park.
In the Champions League on Tuesday evening, youngsters Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr were the midfield pairing, and both did a fine job despite the 1-0 defeat to AC Milan. They impressed many with their mature performances and barely put a foot wrong.
The performance of the pair drew praise from captain Harry Kane, with the inexperienced duo stepping up to the challenge of starting an important fixture in European football’s most prestigious club competition.
Kane told Football.London: “I though they were both outstanding to be honest. It’s not easy to come into the team, two young players who have not got as much experience as some of the others and to come in in this sort of atmosphere and game and perform the way they did, they should be proud,”
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was suspended for the European tie, but will be back for selection to face West Ham on Sunday.
Standing in for Antonio Conte, who has remained in Italy for further recovery from his recent surgery, assistant manager Stellini fielded questions from the press and discussed the topic of squad selection when it comes to the two young midfielders.
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He told Football.London when asked who will partner Hojbjerg: “We will take this decision based on the game. The details of the game will be so important and the characteristics of the game and the opponent.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Both Skipp and Sarr were fantastic on Tuesday, and while we were all worried about that pairing, they ended up being the brightest spark of the game for Spurs. I’m sure I speak for many fans when I say I have the utmost confidence in whichever player gets the nod for Sunday.
If it was me, I think I would pick Sarr, simply because he offers a little more physicality than Skipp, which should come in handy against an aggressive West Ham side.
The pair stepped up to the mark and offered encouragement for the second leg, while neither did anything dazzling, they helped Spurs control much of the game – no fireworks, just simple, important play.
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