Rotation is going to be very much on the agenda again when Tottenham face Everton in the Premier League on Saturday evening. Fresh from making three alterations to his team against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, Antonio Conte will have to make a couple of tweaks here and there just to keep his side nice and fresh.
One of nine games coming up for Spurs ahead of next month's World Cup, there is simply no way the boss can keep faith with the same XI week in, week out as it will lead to players burning out. So what changes could we see the 53-year-old make at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when the Toffees visit the capital? football.london takes a look.
The wing-back positions
Impressing last time out at Brighton on his return to the team in wake of Emerson Royal's suspension, Matt Doherty looks increasingly likely to start again at right wing-back. The Republic of Ireland international didn't feature at all against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek and Conte may have been simply managing his minutes as he looks to return to full fitness from the knee issue he suffered back in April.
A change could take place on the left, however. Ryan Sessegnon has impressed in his past couple of outings but Conte will not want to push him too much considering his injury history, thus opening up the door for Ivan Perisic to return on the left against the Toffees.
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Time for Romero rest?
Tending to alternate between Clement Lenglet and Ben Davies on the left of the back three, the same cannot really be said about the right side. Cristian Romero did drop out of the XI against Leicester City for Davinson Sanchez but the latter has mainly had to do with a watching brief from the substitutes' bench so far this campaign.
With nine games to be played before the Premier League goes on pause, there is going to be a point when Romero drops out again for a breather to allow his teammate to come back in. So could this be the ideal opportunity to name the Argentine on the bench as important matches against Manchester United, Newcastle United and Sporting CP are coming up?
There's also Eric Dier to also consider when it comes to alternating the backline, although Conte told football.london in his pre-match press conference that some roles are difficult to make rotations in.
"There are specific roles that is very, very difficult to make rotation. I think that position, the central defenders, is very very important. I think he is playing a really good season," he said.
"In that position, we can use also Cristian Romero, Sanchez could play, but if I have the possibility and the player give me the availability and tell me that he recovered energy, there are positions in the team that it is better to continue to play."
The key midfield decision
Conte opted for a three-man midfield at Brighton last weekend and Tottenham looked much better for having that extra body in there as they took control of proceedings early on. However, the game soon followed a familiar pattern as Spurs sat back and looked to hit their opponents on the counter.
The head coach now has a call to make over whether he goes with a three-man midfield once again or he keeps faith with his usual 3-4-3 formation which he used in midweek against Eintracht Frankfurt. Regardless of which option he goes for, Saturday could be a chance for Rodrigo Bentancur or Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to have a little rest.
The duo did come off in the closing stages of the Frankfurt victory but a bit more time on the sidelines for does need to happen at some stage due to the amount of minutes both have played. Tottenham do have very good options to come into the side in Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp, with the latter desperately needing a start given how much football he has missed since the start of the year.
Richarlison wait
Conte's midfield selection will have an impact on Richarlison this weekend one way or another. Playing the final 20 minutes at Brighton last weekend, the summer addition returned to the starting XI on Wednesday against Eintracht Frankfurt and showed his quality alongside Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.
Although Conte did mention to BT Sport after the Frankfurt game that his player had a knee problem, the boss confirmed in his pre-match press conference that all in the squad from midweek are available once again.
Richarlison will be absolutely desperate to start against his former club, with Dejan Kulusevski's absence through injury certainly boosting his chances of another start. However, that is all going to be dependant on if Conte decides to put an extra midfielder in his side once again to match up against Everton's three.
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