Antonio Conte and his Tottenham team will step out at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium once again next week with a friendly against Nice on the calendar. Preparing for the return of Premier League football with wins over Motherwell and Peterborough United Under-21s at Hotspur Way over the past seven days, Spurs will take on the French club at 7pm next Wednesday evening.
The match will give those who have been back in training since the end of November another chance to catch Conte's eye, while a few of those who have returned from the World Cup in Qatar could be given some minutes. So who exactly could come into the team following the 3-1 triumph over Posh on Wednesday afternoon?
Tottenham team vs Peterborough United U21s
Spurs: Austin (Whiteman 62), Tanganga (Muir 82), Sanchez (Fagin-Walcott 82), Lenglet (Lyons-Foster 69), Spence (Paskotsi 82), Bissouma (Sarr 69), Skipp (Devine 82), Doherty (Craig 82), Kulusevski (Robson 82), White (Santiago 82), Gil (Mathurin 82).
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Conte made one change to the XI that beat Motherwell last Friday, with Clement Lenglet returning from a knock to replace youngster Charlie Sayers in the side. As was the case against the Steelmen, a host of the club's talented academy players such as Alfie Devine, Matthew Craig and Maksim Paskotsi were given minutes from the bench.
Possible changes
The return of missing quartet
Fraser Forster, Emerson Royal, Ryan Sessegnon and Lucas Moura have played no part in Tottenham's two friendlies. Sessegnon, who sustained an injury in the Carabao Cup game at Nottingham Forest at the start of November, was back training on the grass away from the group last week but he was in no position to play.
Forster, Emerson and Lucas all missed the win over Motherwell with what was believed to be minor knocks suffered in training ahead of the encounter. As the trio were once again absent against Peterborough, question marks have been raised over their fitness ahead of the return of football.
Depending on where they are in their recovery after their recent knocks, Wednesday's game could possibly see them return to the starting XI.
Midfield change
Oliver Skipp and Yves Bissouma have started the past two friendlies having been back at Hotspur Way since the end of November after not taken part in any international football. The duo will be hoping to start again when Nice visit N17, but the match could allow Pape Matar Sarr and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to come into the side.
The former did get 21 minutes under his belt against Peterborough's youngsters and the Nice fixture represents a good opportunity for Conte to watch him from the first whistle for the first time. Sarr does have experience of playing Wednesday's opponents in Ligue 1 following his time with Metz, so it may well be the ideal game for him to start and show what he can do.
As Hojbjerg didn't play against Peterborough despite returning to the club early in the week following Denmark's World Cup exit, he could be in line for a start so he can get some minutes in the legs once again prior to the trip to Brentford.
Son opportunity
Tottenham fans will have also noticed Son Heung-min on the training field at Hotspur Way this week. Representing South Korea at the World Cup, the attacker played his part in helping them advance through the group but their tournament came to an end in their next fixture when Brazil hit four past them.
Last featuring for Tottenham at the start of November in the Champions League match against Marseille, Son's Spurs return could come against Nice on Wednesday evening whether that be from the off or minutes from the bench. A couple of goals would do him the world of good after such a quiet start to the season going on his incredibly high standards.
The England duo
Harry Kane and Eric Dier will also be due back at Hotspur Way next week after playing their part in England's World Cup campaign. Although the striker may still be feeling the effects of starting in each game, Dier will be relatively fresh after only two substitute appearances in the competition.
Whereas it may be a simple choice with giving the centre-back the playing time he needs ahead of Brentford, Conte and his coaching staff have a decision to make when it comes to Kane as they must ensure he is fresh for the game in west London.
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