Ahead of the return of Premier League football on Boxing Day, Tottenham players will be looking to use Wednesday's friendly against Nice to play their way into Antonio Conte's side. Following a six-week hiatus from league action with the 2022 World Cup taking place, Spurs return to the pitch on Monday afternoon when they visit Brentford.
Warming up for the game with friendly wins over Motherwell and Peterborough United Under-21s at Hotspur Way, French side Nice are Tottenham's final opponents before Premier League action resumes. An opportunity for Conte to take a good look at a number of his squad, those on show need to seize their chance and give him something to think about in terms of his team selection ahead of the Brentford showdown.
football.london takes a look at five players who must impress against Nice.
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Davinson Sanchez
Playing time has been there for Sanchez this term with a couple of injuries stopping Cristian Romero from playing week in, week out. Tottenham's Colombian defender did impress in the opening weeks of the season when he deputised for his teammate but he has had a few shaky performances since then.
Hooked around the hour mark in the wins over Leicester City and Bournemouth, Conte needs more consistency from his defender or else he is going to find himself sat on the bench more often than not. Following Romero's World Cup final success on Sunday evening after Argentina beat France in a thrilling contest, there's a possibility the World Cup winner won't be in the team in west London on Boxing Day.
That will open up the door for Sanchez to come back in, although the ex-Ajax man did not start in the back three in three of their final four games before the break in play as Eric Dier, Clement Lenglet and Ben Davies formed the backline instead. Sanchez must deliver against Nice if he wants to return to the starting XI in the Premier League.
Djed Spence
Spence could be given his first start at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday evening against Nice. Handed only 26 minutes across four appearances in the first part of the campaign, the summer signing has started in the last two friendlies and impressed in the process.
Tottenham fans are desperate to see more of the player in action as they firmly believe that he has all the qualities to be a huge success in the right wing-back role. What has probably not helped Spence's cause over the past couple of weeks is Matt Doherty's form.
Starting at left wing-back with Spence on the right, the Republic of Ireland hit a double against Motherwell before finding the net again against Peterborough United Under-21s. All Spence can do right now is take his opportunity and hope it leads to more minutes in the second half of the campaign.
Yves Bissouma
Bissouma is now starting to look more like the player that wowed for Brighton & Hove Albion after a patchy start to his Tottenham career. Very impressive against Liverpool a week before the Premier League went on pause, Conte and all connected with the club will be hoping that more is to come from the Mali international as he has so much to offer the Lilywhites.
Bissouma may have missed a penalty in Tottenham's last friendly but he impressed on the whole in their last two outings. With a place in midfield up for grabs against Brentford due to Rodrigo Bentancur's suspension, the summer addition is in a battle with Oliver Skipp for the starting spot next to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
The ex-Brighton man is probably leading the way at present but the Nice friendly could have a big say on who starts come Boxing Day.
Oliver Skipp
Skipp has endured some rotten luck with injuries since the turn of the year. Missing the majority of the second part of the 2021/22 season, the England Under-21s international was back on the pitch in the summer but then sustained another injury on the training ground.
Having to bide his time with minutes here and there since his return as Conte has been so reliant on Hojbjerg and Bentancur, Skipp is desperate to make his mark in the Tottenham XI once again. The academy graduate has done well in the past two friendlies and has been putting himself about in his quest to catch Conte's eye, with the player intent on doing likewise when they take on Nice.
Bryan Gil
Bryan's minutes did increase prior to the World Cup as Conte turned to him a couple of times off the bench with Spurs in need of an attacking boost. Starting in Tottenham's past two friendlies, the Spaniard has made his mark with goals and assists in both.
Now he really needs to do the same in Tottenham's final friendly as the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min are back and in line to start away at Brentford. football.london reported on Saturday that Richarlison is now set to be out for around five to six weeks after sustaining a hamstring injury at the World Cup, which in turn could boost Bryan's first-team chances in the process.
As Lucas Moura has been suffering with an issue and didn't play against Motherwell or Peterborough, Bryan may be in line for some regular minutes over the festive period as Conte is going to have to switch things about at some stage due to the amount of games on the calendar. All Bryan can do is impress and hope that first-team opportunities continue to come his way.
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