The Tottenham Hotspur fans here in the Transfer Tavern were absolutely delighted to see the club banish their Wembley woes on Wednesday night.
Indeed, our local Lillywhites loved watching Mauricio Pochettino’s side run riot over Borussia Dortmund, with Harry Kane proving his world class status with two stunning goals against the Germans.
Hopefully for them, this could be the start of something special at the home of national football after a difficult period playing there over the past year or so.
Swansea are coming off a fairly bad result against Newcastle United last week and are certainly there for the taking, particularly with Harry Kane back in the goals now August has ended…
Certainly, this seems like an ideal time to follow up a very decent European result with their first ‘home’ win of the season, so it could prove to be a bigger game than initially thought.
With that in mind, here’s a look at how Tottenham should line up.
GK: Hugo Lloris
Hasn’t been at his very best so far this season, though Hugo Lloris still deserves his status as one of the very best custodians in the Premier League.
Will need to keep his concentration, with Tottenham likely to have plenty of the ball.
RWB: Serge Aurier
Though both Kyle Walker-Peters and Kieran Trippier have performed well in the right-back berth this season, summer signing Serge Aurier was imperious against Dortmund.
Looks tailor-made for life in the Premier League,
CB: Davinson Sanchez
What a start he’s made so far.
Composed on the ball and able to step forward into midfield, Sanchez is looking like the player Eric Dier seems to think he is these days.
The Colombian should get even better with every passing game and it’s unlikely Swansea will bother him too much.
CB: Toby Alderweireld
The most complete centre-half in the Premier League? The Belgian is rock solid at the back and his ability to hit an inch-perfect crossfield ball is reminiscent of Leonardo Bonucci.
Imperative Tottenham keep him in the long run.
CB: Jan Vertonghen
Unlucky to be sent off against Dortmund, Vertonghen continues to form what is probably the best defence in England, alongside his compatriot.
Shows no signs of letting his very high standards slip.
LWB: Ben Davies
Danny Rose who? Ben Davies may not be quite as sexy a name as the England international’s, though his energetic performances from the left-hand side have started to match that of Rose’s.
There’s a growing school of thought here in the Tavern that Rose faces a fight to get back into the side.
CM: Mousa Dembele
Absolutely imperious in central midfield, the Belgian international is almost impossible to get past in any engine room battle.
Important to Tottenham’s set-up going both forward and back, Dembele will surely dominate the midfield, even with Renato Sanches about.
CM: Eric Dier
Brought forward into a defensive midfield berth, Dier needs to get back to playing the way he did leading up to Euro 2016. With Sanchez now impressing at centre-back and Victor Wanyama only missing out through injury, the pressure is on for the former Sporting Lisbon man.
CAM: Christian Eriksen
One of the best attacking midfielders in the league, Eriksen would be free to float between the lines against Swansea in this system.
Able to find space that seems to lay between heartbeats, the Dane can decide the game with one strike of his boot.
ST: Dele Alli
While not an out and out striker, the width provided by the full-backs and shield provided by the midfield would give Alli pretty much free reign to shadow Harry Kane and arrive late in the box.
Suspended for Champions League duty, the England star should be raring to go on Saturday tea-time.
ST: Harry Kane
Genuinely one of the world’s very best strikers. Kane proved against Dortmund just how good he really is and now that August is done with, should be a real threat against the traveling Swans.
