Antonio Conte has made seven changes as Tottenham make the trip to Preston North End in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday.
Spurs are the visitors at Deepdale for the first time since 2009 and following Monday's 1-0 win at Fulham, Conte has decided to change things up despite the north London club not being back in action until next Sunday when they host Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Despite the changes, it is a game Conte and the players will not be taking lightly after their FA Cup exit at another Championship side in Middlesbrough last March. The Tottenham boss has to balance picking a strong team, which he can because of that gap between fixtures, but also giving some minutes to others to ensure they are sharper if called upon in the weeks to come.
READ MORE: Cristian Stellini pinpoints what Djed Spence must improve on to impress Antonio Conte
His assistant boss Cristian Stellini appeared to suggest that Harry Kane might not start at Deepdale after only returning to training for the first time this week on Friday following the fever and illness he was suffering with against Fulham and that is the case. Stellini also Indicate that new signing Arnaut Danjuma might not be quite ready yet to start and the Dutchman joins Kane on the bench.
Elsewhere, Fraser Forster gets a game as do Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga and Yves Bissouma among others. It would have been the perfect time to hand Richarlison his first start since his injury with Kane given a rest on the bench, however the Brazilian did not travel with the team to Preston on Friday and instead watched Lucas Moura's return with the U21s.
Conte has named Rodrigo Bentancur to play alongside Bissouma while Ivan Perisic pushes up to the left of the front three with Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski.
There's no room in the squad for Djed Spence or Pape Matar Sarr, while Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero have been handed a rest from the trip.
Here's the team Conte has selected:
Forster; Tanganga, Sanchez, Lenglet; Doherty, Bissouma, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Son, Perisic. Subs: Austin, Dier, Davies, Emerson, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Gil, Kane, Danjuma.
READ NEXT:
- Daniel Levy, Antonio Conte and a defining fortnight for Tottenham Hotspur
- Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici have Tottenham transfer duty as Conte shares special Sarr moment
- Tottenham issue statement after Aaron Ramsdale incident at end of North London Derby vs Arsenal
- Every word Conte said on Spurs' Arsenal defeat, Hugo Lloris error and supporter kicking Ramsdale
- The Pedro Porro problem, that Qatar meeting and Leandro Trossard - Tottenham behind the scenes
