Prior to Sunday’s Premier League matchup between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa in North London, midfielder Yves Bissouma has been suspended once more, according to head coach Ange Postecoglou.
Before the international break, during their 2-1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Mali international was booked for the sixth time this season. Cristian Romero, who is serving the second of a three-game ban, has also been added to the naughty step.
In addition to the suspended pair, Richarlison (pelvic), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Alfie Whiteman (ankle), Ivan Perisic (knee), and Manor Solomon (knee) are all recuperating from surgeries. James Maddison (ankle) and Micky van de Ven (hamstring) are sidelined until the New Year due to injuries they sustained against Chelsea.
However, Destiny Udogie has now served a ban of his own and is also expected to recover from a muscular issue in time to face the Lions, so Emerson Royal’s time at left-back may be up, as Pedro Porro is a mainstay on the right. Eric Dier and Ben Davies justified their selections as emergency centre-backs against Wolves before Spurs’ injury-time capitulation, and the duo should again be called upon to protect Guglielmo Vicario. With Bissouma helplessly watching on, the door is open for Rodrigo Bentancur to make his first Premier League start since suffering his devastating ACL injury in February, most likely alongside Pape Sarr and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the engine room trident.
After opening the scoring just three minutes into his side’s Molineux encounter, Brennan Johnson should keep Bryan Gil and Alejo Veliz at bay for another starting role in tandem with Dejan Kulusevski and captain Son Heung-min, who played down an injury scare while representing South Korea this month. Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup: Vicario; Porro, Dier, Davies, Udogie; Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sarr; Kulusevski, Son, Johnson