Bissouma leading the race for Brentford
Yves Bissouma will be leading the race to partner Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in Tottenham's midfield against Brentford after a strong mid-season break. Missing Rodrigo Bentancur on Boxing Day through suspension, Antonio Conte has to choose between Bissouma or Oliver Skipp to take the place of the Uruguayan star.
Without the England Under-21 international due to a fever for Wednesday's friendly against Nice, his competitor was given the chance to partner Hojbjerg and build up an understanding with the Dane ahead of the trip across the capital. Struggling to find his top form in north London following his move from Brighton & Hove Albion as he tries to get used to Conte's big demands, Bissouma did start to show glimpses of his best in the weeks before the Premier League went on pause.
Having the opportunity to work closely with the head coach during the break in play, which Conte told SPURSPLAY was "really important" for him, the 26-year-old delivered some strong performances in the friendlies against Motherwell and Peterborough United Under-21s before doing likewise in the 1-1 draw with Nice. Seeing plenty of the ball and always positive when in possession, Bissouma did showcase his passing qualities in the first half with a superb crossfield ball to pick out Matt Doherty.
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The ex-Brighton man even pushed on and looked to add to the wing-back's fine goal, only for his curling effort to take a deflection and just go wide of the post. A missed opportunity for Skipp having played very little football so far this campaign, Bissouma is now in the driving seat to play next to Hojbjerg against Brentford.
Probably leading the race anyway regardless of Skipp's injury, Bissouma will be intent on taking his form from the three friendlies into the second part of the season. There's certainly more to come from the summer addition in what remains of the campaign.
Conte hails Sarr
As we have mentioned how well Bissouma fared against Nice, it is only right to praise fellow midfielder Pape Matar Sarr after a very good cameo appearance in the 1-1 draw. Returning to Hotspur Way last week and playing a handful of minutes against Peterborough's youngsters after his time at the World Cup, the 20-year-old was given the entire second half to impress Conte and those watching on inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The ideal game for him having come up against Nice previously in Ligue 1, Sarr looked full of confidence despite a lack of playing time since returning to Tottenham in the summer. The youngster showed a number of good touches throughout the game and always looked to get the ball forward to help out those in attack.
There was one moment when he really caught the eye as he lifted the ball over Ross Barkley's head before nonchalantly playing a first-time pass to Bissouma just as the ball touched the turf. Sarr even looked to get himself on the scoresheet late in the second half, seeing a low shot go wide of the target after finding himself in space outside the area.
The Senegal international is clearly doing something right at present, with Conte saying he "liked him a lot with the way he got into the pitch" after replacing Hojbjerg. Tottenham fans want to see more of the starlet, and now it is down to the Italian to increase his minutes if he does remain in N17 beyond January.
Doherty looks at home at left wing-back
Doherty has been the standout star of Tottenham's three friendly games after scoring for fun. Notching a double in the 4-0 win over Motherwell and registering another strike in the victory over Peterborough, the wing-back made it four goals in three games with a powerful strike against Nice.
Receiving the ball in the area from Dejan Kulusevski, Doherty emphatically found the net with a first-time finish that left Kasper Schmeichel with no chance at his near post. The goal came not long after the Irishman found himself in a promising position but a poor touch saw him unable to test the ex-Leicester City man.
Over the past few games Doherty has played the majority of his football at left wing-back rather than his natural position on the right. He is no stranger to the role as Conte has played him there in the past and he certainly does look at home there at present.
A key player in the Tottenham XI in the second part of last season until he sustained a knee injury away at Aston Villa, the 30-year-old struggled to recapture his form in the opening months of the campaign and found himself behind Emerson Royal in the pecking order. While of course you do need to take Tottenham's opponents from the past fortnight into consideration, Doherty does appear to be finding his form again ahead of a crucial few months for the team. He should be in the side on merit as things stand.
Sessegnon still not there with his fitness
A key period for those staying behind at Hotspur Way and working with Conte during the World Cup, it proved to be a frustrating time for Ryan Sessegnon after sustaining an injury in the Carabao Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest in early November. Returning to the pitch but training away from his teammates as he worked on his fitness, the left wing-back missed out in the Lilywhites' first two friendly games at Hotspur Way.
Speaking ahead of the Nice game, Conte did admit that the ex-Fulham man had recovered from his issue and was ready ahead of their third and final friendly match but was still not 100 per cent. Sessegnon still clearly isn't there with his fitness just yet as he was an unused substitute on Wednesday evening against the French side.
Sessegnon does have a few more days to recover ahead of the Brentford game but Doherty is winning the race for the left wing-back berth as things stand with Ivan Perisic's World Cup campaign only coming to an end a week ago.
Conte needs more from Sanchez
Davinson Sanchez led the team out at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday as he was the one entrusted by Conte to wear the captain's armband with the likes of Hugo Lloris, Harry Kane and Eric Dier not in the XI. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who has displayed his leadership qualities week in, week out during his time at Tottenham, was another possible option to wear the armband but in the end Conte plumped for the Colombian.
Enduring a bit of a mixed season following what was a good start to the term from the ex-Ajax man, Sanchez has had a couple of moments to forget in the past three friendlies. Losing the ball against Motherwell and allowing them to attack the Spurs backline, the 26-year-old was guilty of some sloppy play in the first half against Nice and looked shaky on the ball at times.
Conte really does need more from his experienced player, especially as there's a very good chance he could be starting against Brentford amid question marks over Cristian Romero's return following Argentina's World Cup final success. For the player himself he needs to get some consistency back into his game or else he will find himself on the bench more often than not if his performance levels continue to fluctuate.
READ NEXT:
How Davinson Sanchez helped Son Heung-min as Harry Kane and Richarlison watch Tottenham draw
Tottenham player ratings vs Nice: Pape Matar Sarr and Bryan Gil impress as Matt Doherty scores
Tottenham vs Nice first-half player ratings: Doherty and Bissouma impress, Sanchez sloppy
Why Djed Spence and Oliver Skipp are missing from Antonio Conte's Tottenham squad to face Nice
What Tottenham's non-homegrown player numbers mean for Fabio Paratici's January transfer plans
