---
title: "Pochettino should make these 2 Tottenham changes against Dortmund to avoid another defeat – agreed?"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/pochettino-should-make-these-2-tottenham-changes-against-dortmund-to-avoid-another-defeat-agreed/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Luke Randall"
section: "Premier League"
published: "2017-11-21T06:55:26Z"
modified: "2017-11-21T06:55:26Z"
---

# Pochettino should make these 2 Tottenham changes against Dortmund to avoid another defeat – agreed?

**Spurs fans here in the Tavern are still somewhat shell-shocked after a below-par performance against a struggling Arsenal side.**

The North London derby is always a hotly anticipated fixture for any Spurs or Gunners fan, with rivalries dating back to the glory days of Thierry Henry and Teddy Sheringham at their respective homes of Highbury and White Hart Lane.

Indeed, the latest meeting between these two sides commenced at the weekend, producing a quite remarkable outcome.

The high flying Spurs were hot favourites heading into this one on the back of some impressive performances, and a title challenge still in check. Meanwhile, Arsenal were living life at the opposite end of the spectrum, after a run of disappointing results mixed with an underperforming squad, forcing Arsene Wenger to find a remedy for an immediate improvement.

However, all form and previous encounters seem to go out of the window when the battle of these two heavyweights commences.

Surely this wasn’t the same Tottenham side we’ve all enjoyed watching so far this season?

The Lilywhites delivered arguably their worst performance that their fans have witnessed so far this season, causing Pochettino to watch on in absolute despair, as his beloved Tottenham side found themselves being unravelled by what was a brutally dominant performance from the red half of North London.

Understandably, a couple of noticeable changes could definitely come into the fold in Tottenham’s next game with Borussia Dortmund, with the Lilywhites now desperately seeking a good result. ,

With that said, Pochettino must make these 2 changes against Dortmund if they are to avoid another defeat – agreed?

## Winks In, Dembele Out

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Winks-1.jpg)

Indeed, after a horrific performance at the hands of their most bitter rivals, a changeup is more than needed.

Moussa Dembele was given a surprising starting berth in the side, something that he hadn’t seen in previous games since returning from the injury hit-list.

Tipped as the rising star in this Spurs team, Harry Winks has been sensational in the defensive midfield role that Pochettino utilises him in, which has resulted in him reaping the rewards of an appearance in every game since the injury to his counterpart.

Mauricio must have come to realize his sloppy decision just after the hour mark, ironically taking off Dembele to replace him with a spark of English youth. Many fans here in the Tavern believe this was the missing ingredient due to the dominance that Spurs then went on to insert once the young man entered the fray.

Dembele’s lack of ability to link up play with the formidable attack that Spurs posed may just have been their downfall – and Winks needs to replace him tonight.

## Tactical Flaws

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Pochettino.jpg)

Mauricio Pochettino has always been commonly regarded as a managerial mastermind, yet it was his managerial counterpart’s wisdom that outshone the Argentine’s master plan.

After setting up Tottenham in their favoured 3 back formation, many punters here in the Tavern were expecting the usual insert of the Lilywhites dominance. However, the tactical nature of the Spurs display played right into the hands of a sense of tactical brilliance from the Gunners side.

In previous weeks his side has opted for an attacking style, suiting the fast-paced attack that they have at their disposal. But as the weekends game commenced, it seemed as if the away side had taken up the form of a counter-attack based set up, similarly to the technique that Jose Mourinho adopts in crunch games at United.

Indeed, just like the Manchester side, this didn’t work out. Predictably, this invited the likes of Ramsey and Ozil to get on the ball and fizz it about freely in front of the Spurs defenders, leading to both goals being down to a deep-lying defence.

Along with the supply line to Harry Kane going missing due to such a deep position being taken up by the midfielders when winning the ball, leading the star striker to be feeding off scraps, the Lilywhites were unable to do much of anything going forward. This has to change tonight.