This Sunday afternoon Antonio Conte's Tottenham side will welcome table-topping Arsenal in the latest North London Derby and the Italian has plenty of decisions to make.
The pressure will be on both sides on the day as Arsenal look to maintain their five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City in the Premier League while Spurs, in fifth spot and two points behind third-placed Newcastle, will not want the Gunners to pull away into a huge 14 point lead ahead of them in the table if they were to come and win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Conte must make a number of decisions before Mikel Arteta's side head across north London as the Italian looks to repeat the performance of last season's defining derby victory in N17 and here are the main choices to be made in our view.
READ MORE: Qatar Sports Investment meeting with Daniel Levy explained as Tottenham deny funding talks
The Kulusevski decision
Dejan Kulusevski appears to be the best placed of the injured bunch to return in time to play a part in the match. The Swede could be seen training individually earlier this week as he tries to get back to a good level of fitness after his muscle injury.
If the 22-year-old is fit enough to take part on Sunday then Conte must decide whether the creative wide man is ready to be thrown in from the start of such a big match or whether he continues with Bryan Gil, who has impressed in recent performances. The physicality and pace of the North London Derby will also be a big ask though for the Spaniard and Conte will have to be sure that he is also ready for that.
Bentancur need
Conte will deliver the latest update in his press conference on Friday on the fitness of Kulusevski as well as Rodrigo Bentancur, Richarlison and Lucas Moura. In his last press conference, after the victory at Crystal Palace, Conte had said he hoped to have the first three back in time for the Arsenal match.
When it comes to Lucas, the club chose not to take up the extra 12 month option on the Brazilian's contract which lapsed at the end of December so the 30-year-old, who has been suffering from a tendon inflammation issue all season, is set to leave at the end of the season or this month if a club comes in as Spurs search for a new attacker.
The hope that Bentancur could be involved in some capacity in Sunday's game was still there last weekend and much will depend on his progress this week with the sports science staff after his adductor muscle tear at the World Cup. Spurs have been keeping his progress under wraps and Conte could also keep Arsenal guessing in Friday's press conference at Hotspur Way.
Bentancur has become a key player for Tottenham and would make a big difference in the derby, although whether he would be fit enough to start such a high intensity game having not played since December 2 is another thing even if he was available.
Yves Bissouma has returned to training though after his ankle problem and Conte could turn to the Mali international, who has given the Gunners plenty of problems in the past in his Brighton days.
Matching up in midfield
Another option for Conte is to match up against Arsenal in the midfield. The Gunners have been playing with a three in Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard in the centre of the park and clearly it's been working.
That means there's a chance that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and whoever plays alongside him could be overrun in the midfield if Conte continues with a central duo, although he can supplement the pair with either the two numbers 10s, as he calls them, dropping back, or having the wing-backs - likely to be Matt Doherty and Ivan Perisic - tuck inside.
The alternative is to also pick three in the centre of midfield. Conte could select Hojbjerg, Bissouma and Bentancur, although if the Uruguayan is not available as starting after six weeks without football is a big ask, another choice would be the hard-working Oliver Skipp or throwing Pape Matar Sarr into his first North London Derby after the 20-year-old's recent impressive displays.
Centre-back choices
Conte also has decisions to make at the back. One is whether Eric Dier continues in the Premier League after a strong return to the centre of the back three at Palace alongside Cristian Romero on the right.
If Dier does return then the Spurs head coach must decide whether to go on the left with Ben Davies, with his experience of these derbies, or Frenchman Clement Lenglet, who has shown recently that he adds plenty going forward for Spurs with his left foot as well as his defending. The Barcelona defender has also played in plenty of big matches in recent years for club and country.
Arsenal have plenty of goals in them and the defence will be handed its sternest test in recent weeks so Conte must get the balance exactly right.
READ NEXT:
Daniel Levy's uncomfortable moment and Antonio Conte's rather hypocritical Tottenham request
Franck Kessie, Tete and Antonio Conte's two Tottenham January transfer window priorities
Dejan Kulusevski was 'terrified' of Tottenham move but admits Conte is 'very nice on the inside'
Emerson Royal responds to Tottenham abuse as January transfer stance revealed
Djed Spence awaits crucial decision, Conte's gift and which Spurs stars will return vs Arsenal
