Tottenham Hotspur welcome Leicester City to north London in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Antonio Conte has steered Spurs to six consecutive Premier League victories at home, their longest such streak since a glut of 14 straight wins at White Hart Lane to conclude the 2016/17 campaign.
Here’s the XI Conte may deploy to extend Tottenham’s winning touch in N17.
GK: Hugo Lloris – Tottenham’s skipper has played more games as captain of the French men’s national team than any other player in the country’s history (115).
CB: Cristian Romero – The front-footed centre-back is yet to earn a Premier League red card but has been booked nine times in 25 appearances. The needless nature of some of Romero’s cautions has left Conte exasperated. “Sometimes you can’t explain this in a good manner,” the manager said. “You have to shout!”
CB: Eric Dier – After an emotional and ultimately unsuccessful return to his former club Sporting CP in midweek, Dier will line up against an opponent closer to his childhood home in Cheltenham this Saturday.
CB: Clement Lenglet – The 27-year-old Frenchman made just seven league starts for Barcelona last season but did enough to convince Conte of his usefulness in those brief outings.
RWB: Emerson Royal – As a child, the adventurous Brazilian was once electrocuted while trying to retrieve a football. The shock was so bad, Emerson admitted: “It felt like I nearly died.”
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur – 118 club games have elapsed since Bentancur last found the back of the net.
CM: Pierre Hojbjerg – Alongside Harry Kane, Hojbjerg is the only Tottenham player to have scored multiple Premier League goals this season.
LWB: Ryan Sessegnon – The demanding role of a wingback under Conte is described as “probably one of the hardest positions in the team at the moment” by Sessegnon (if he does say so himself).
RW: Dejan Kulusevski – Most footballers count a former legend of the game as their role model but for Kulusevski that honour falls upon the “great thinker”, Tupac Shakur.
ST: Harry Kane – Of all the opponents Kane has faced in his career, Leicester are unquestionably his favourite, with an unrivalled tally of 19 goals in 18 appearances against the Foxes.
LW: Richarlison – The Brazilian has netted four goals in his last six appearances against Leicester.
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