Paul Merson believes that Antonio Conte needs to continue starting Son Heung-min despite the South Korean’s poor form, and backed the Lilywhites to recover from their defeat on Tuesday by putting Leicester City to the sword.
Tottenham fell to their first loss across all competitions since April against Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday, with reports indicating that Conte ‘tore into’ his players in the away dressing at the Jose Alvalade Stadium following the 2-0 defeat (Daily Mail).
The Spurs head coach insisted in his press conference on Friday that Tottenham could have beaten the Portuguese side given the opportunities they had, and added that he expects his players to respond by returning to winning ways on Saturday (Football.London).
When asked about Son, the Italian reiterated that no player in the squad, including the South Korean, is undroppable.
Merson believes that Conte is doing the right thing by continuing to start Son and backed the 30-year-old to be back among the goals sooner rather than later.
When asked to predict Spurs’ clash against Leicester, the former Arsenal midfielder told Sportskeeda: “Tottenham are not playing well at the moment, let’s be honest.
“The game against Sporting in the UEFA Champions League was a bad one for them, but in my opinion, it could help them in the long run.
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“At the start of the Premier League season, I felt results were papering over their cracks, which obviously wouldn’t be the case anymore after what happened in Europe midweek.
“That said, I still fancy them to bounce back and beat Leicester City this weekend. The Foxes are all over the place and it looks to me like their players aren’t working for each other, which is a worrying sign for Brendan Rodgers. They have good players, but it just isn’t working for them at the moment.
“Son Heung-min’s form has been a cause for concern, but I fancy him to return to his best. Cream always rises to the top, which is why I believe Antonio Conte needs to continue starting him every week.”
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Leicester City.
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I think Son could benefit from being taken out of the firing line and coming on as a substitute in the final 20 to 30 minutes against tired legs. However, I expect Conte to start the South Korean against the Foxes on Saturday as, despite his rhetoric, the Italian has not shown a willingness to rotate his big guns.
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