Tottenham travel to Anfield for the Carabao Cup third-round clash against Liverpool this evening, and some Spurs players may be in line for their first starts of the campaign.
Roberto De Zerbi has already admitted that he will ring the changes for the Carabao Cup, particularly given that some of his key players played 90 minutes against Everton.
Andoni Iraola has also indicated that Liverpool’s squad players will get a chance today, thus potentially evening the playing field.
The Tottenham boss faces an interesting selection headache in attack, and he has now revealed if two senior men could make their first starts of the season.
Roberto De Zerbi confirms James Maddison is not ready to start for Tottenham
Maddison, who recently recovered from a minor shoulder injury, came on as a late substitute during Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Everton.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Kudus has come off the bench in all of Tottenham’s last three league matches after missing the first game of the season at Brentford.
While both players are coming off long-term injuries, De Zerbi revealed that the Ghanaian is ready to start, but Maddison still needs time to work on his fitness.
When asked if the two attackers could make their first starts of the season at Anfield, the Tottenham boss responded to Football.London: “Mohammed Kudus can start, because in terms of physical condition he’s better. James, not yet.”
What front four will De Zerbi go with against Liverpool?
One would expect Mathys Tel and Conor Gallagher to come into the starting line-up at left-wing and ten, respectively, given that neither of them started against Everton.
He may not want to risk Savio in successive matches, and one would thus expect Kudus to start on the right. Omar Marmoush will likely lead the line after Dominic Solanke’s exertions on Saturday.
With the likes of Savio, Solanke and Maddison to come off the bench in the second half, Spurs have the quality to hurt what is expected to be an understrength Liverpool side.