It certainly doesn't get any easier for Tottenham Hotspur following their 6-1 mauling at the hands of Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon. Now with Ryan Mason at the helm after Cristian Stellini's dismissal just over 24 hours later, Spurs do have the chance to bounce back pretty quickly from their humiliation on Tyneside but they face the rather difficult prospect of coming up against Erik ten Hag's Manchester United.
Although their Champions League ambitions look all but over following their recent slump in form, the Lilywhites desperately need the three points with places in the other European competitions still to play for. The issue for Tottenham now is that Aston Villa, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion are closing in on them and could potentially leapfrog them before the end of the week.
One thing for sure heading into Thursday's showdown against Manchester United is that Mason must make changes to his Tottenham team after the debacle in the north east. So what alterations could he make for the game in north London?
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Formation change
Stellini gave Tottenham fans their wish on Sunday at Newcastle after finally deciding to change formation. Amid much clamour for a back four and an extra body in midfield, the Italian stamped his own mark on the team only for it to fail spectacularly.
Making such a bold decision to start attack-minded wing-backs Pedro Porro and Ivan Perisic as full-backs, Tottenham found themselves 4-0 down after 19 minutes and that prompted a switch back to a three-man backline. Despite conceding again two minutes later, Spurs looked much better for their usual setup and the Magpies only netted once in the second half.
It may not be the formation Tottenham fans want but it is the one that best suits their characteristics, especially the defenders at the club. The only chance we could possibly see a back four again this campaign is if Spurs receive positive injury news and the players who can play the system are available.
Forster to start?
Having conceded five goals in the first half at St James' Park, Hugo Lloris did not reappear for the restart. Fraser Forster came on in his place at the break and the reason for the substitution was due to a muscle injury the Frenchman picked up in the opening 45 minutes.
Excellent between the sticks when he has taken the place of Lloris this season, Forster could be given another chance in goal depending on the severity of the Frenchman's injury. That will become clear when Tottenham hold their pre-match press conference to preview the Manchester United clash.
Lenglet and Davies in
As part of the likely changes to the backline, Clement Lenglet and Ben Davies could be two players that come into the side. The former had sustained inflammation under his foot in the Bournemouth defeat but was fit enough to take his place on the bench, with the latter returning to the matchday squad for the first time since Southampton after a hamstring issue.
With a few more days on the training pitch at Hotspur Way, both will be pushing for starts against Manchester United. Although Davies has played the vast majority of the season as a left-sided centre-back, he could quite easily take Perisic's position at wing-back.
A chance for Richarlison
Dejan Kulusevski really hasn't had a good time of it of late. The Swede has struggled for form in his second season at Tottenham and he just had no impact on proceedings in the 6-1 defeat at Newcastle, with the hosts running riot.
Thursday evening could be the ideal time to drop him down to the bench for a breather in hope that it leads to him rediscovering his best form. Richarlison has endured some rotten luck in his short time at Tottenham and he will be itching to come into the side for the first time since returning from injury.
Certainly someone who will want to prove a point, Richarlison's energy and battling qualities in attack is what Tottenham could do with at present, as well as the fact he will make a nuisance of himself and hopefully cause Manchester United some issues. One other option would be to hand Arnaut Danjuma his first Tottenham start after playing a bit-part role since his loan switch from Villarreal.
Tottenham definitely need to change things about as persisting with the same players in hope that it sparks a change has not worked at all so far.
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