Predicted Tottenham line-up for north London derby as Igor Tudor tipped to recall star who thrived in new system
Igor Tudor has been tipped to recall Randal Kolo Muani to Tottenham’s starting line-up for his first game in charge on Sunday.
Tudor has stepped in until the end of the season to try and save Spurs from an unprecedented relegation from the Premier League.
The Croatian replaced Thomas Frank in the hot seat, and there couldn’t be a harder game to start with.
Tottenham take on bitter rivals and league leaders Arsenal in the north London derby on Sunday afternoon.
The pressure will be on for Tudor to make an immediate impact, with Spurs sitting just five points clear of the relegation zone.
And the panel on the latest episode of talkSPORT’s Inside Spurs show have discussed how he’s going to try and do just that.
How will Igor Tudor set Spurs up?
Host Abbi Summers looked at how Tudor likes to set up his teams, saying: “It’s traditionally a 3-4-2-1 formation.
“It makes for an interesting watch.”
Guest Dean Scoggins then added: “I often use this quote from Thomas Tuchel, a formation is just a framework to work with, it means you can adapt it as things go on.
“It will be, on paper, might be a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-2-1, but it’s definitely front-footed and aggressive, he likes to press.
“I do wonder whether we won’t see that straight away as it is Arsenal in the north London derby.
“I don’t think we want to see the likes of Xavi [Simons], [Dominic] Solanke and [Randal] Kolo Muani running past the ball.
“We want to be a little more in shape, but it will be wing-backs and he may be slightly tied as no [Destiny] Udogie, there’s an outside chance of seeing [Pedro] Porro…
“It might be that you see Djed Spence to look after Bukayo Saka and then Archie Gray as the most likely option at right wing-back.”
He added: “No [Cristian] Romero, no [Ben Davies], no [Kevin ] Danso – it means the back three is going to be [Joao] Palhinha in there with Radu Dragusin and Micky van de Ven.
“So it’s not exactly what he would want playing his formation, he’d want Romero, Danso, Porro and Udogie.”
Kolo Muani the key?
A specific player who will be delighted to work under Tudor at Tottenham will be Kolo Muani.
The French striker has started 12 of his 18 Premier League appearances for Spurs since joining on loan from Juventus, but has failed to score a single league goal so far.
He started on the bench for three of Frank’s last four games in charge, but Tudor may look to instantly recall him.
When at Juve last season, Kolo Muani scored five goals in 11 appearances, thriving in the Croatian’s system.
On the chance for the striker to find some form at the club, Scoggins added: “The most interesting one is Kolo Muani. Surely he’s not going to drop Solanke? It would be madness.
“But what he could do – Kolo Muani remember, had his best spell at Juventus under Tudor – he’s not going to drop Simons, so we could see two strikers.
“A variation on the 3-4-2-1 is a 3-4-1-2, where he plays Kolo Muani up front with Solanke and gives Xavi a normal No.10 role to be around.
“I could see us being more direct in that way, play it up to Solanke and run off him, let Simons hover around the loose balls.”
Tottenham’s predicted line-up
Following the discussion on how Tudor could potentially set up his new Spurs side, the panel predicted the line-up.
Summers said: “It would be –Vicario, Van de Ven, Dragusin, Palhinha, Gray, Gallagher, Sarr, Spence, Simons, Solanke, Kolo Muani.”
“You’ve also got Souza, [Mathys] Tel and [Yves] Bissouma, with Richarlison and Porro on the bench if they have a late fitness test.
“That’s what he’s got to work with.”
Tottenham take on Arsenal in a crucial derby in terms of the fight at both ends of the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is at 4:30pm.
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