Tottenham Hotspur begin their FA Cup journey in 2023 with a third round match against League One side Portsmouth and Antonio Conte has plenty of selection decisions to make.
Spurs got back on track with a 4-0 victory against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Wednesday evening, registering their first win of the year in some style in the second half. With the cup game against a Pompey team that recently sacked manager Danny Cowley coming ahead of the north London derby next weekend, Conte could make a number of changes.
We asked our Spurs reporters Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest to name the team they reckon Conte will select to face Portsmouth in the Saturday lunchtime game.
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Alasdair Gold - Tottenham Hotspur correspondent
Conte can choose to go one of two ways. Either he picks a strong team which he can change from the bench as there are eight days between the cup match and the Premier League game against Arsenal, or the Spurs boss could make lots of changes with the big guns sat in the reserve in case of any problems.
Fraser Forster will likely get another start in a Spurs shirt while Davinson Sanchez and Ben Davies will come back into the defence and Conte will have to decide between Japhet Tanganga getting more minutes or Eric Dier, who did not play against Aston Villa on New Year's Day, keeping his place after the Palace win.
Oliver Skipp could get another start in the centre of the pitch and Conte may hand Pape Matar Sarr his full debut after the 20-year-old Senegal international impressed in both of his two recent substitute appearances. The duo could be too inexperienced as pairing which could mean Yves Bissouma, suspended for the trip to Selhurst Park, plays alongside them both to form a midfield three.
That would only leave room for two attackers and Harry Kane could get his first rest of the season from a starting line-up, with Son Heung-min and Bryan Gil looking to continue the momentum of their performances against Palace.
With the wing-backs Conte will have to choose between Emerson Royal and Djed Spence on the right with Ryan Sessegnon likely to start on the left to hand Ivan Perisic a rest.
Gold's team: Forster; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Spence, Skipp, Bissouma, Sarr, Sessegnon; Bryan, Son.
Rob Guest - Tottenham Hotspur correspondent
Saturday's FA Cup game against Portsmouth gives Antonio Conte the chance to switch things up in terms of his Tottenham XI with the north London derby on the horizon. Tottenham cannot underestimate Pompey, though, after a scare against Morecambe in the same round of the competition 12 months ago.
Fraser Forster should come into the side in place of Hugo Lloris, with Japhet Tanganga, Davinson Sanchez and Ben Davies making up the back three. While Emerson Royal does need the minutes at present with Matt Doherty now ahead of him in the pecking order, when exactly is Djed Spence going to play for Tottenham if he doesn't start against the League One outfit?
Ryan Sessegnon also comes back into the side so Ivan Perisic can have a breather ahead of the Arsenal fixture, while Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr pair up in midfield. Up front. Bryan Gil starts again and so does Son Heung-min but in a central role, with Harvey White coming in and making up the attacking trio.
If fit, Dejan Kulusevski would benefit from minutes off the bench as he shouldn't be pushed too much prior to the north London derby. If indeed that Tottenham do struggle against League One opposition again as was the case last January, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Perisic and Harry Kane can be called upon from the bench.
Guest's team: Forster; Tanganga, Sanchez, Davies; Spence, Skipp, Sarr, Sessegnon; Bryan, Son, White.
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