Tottenham Hotspur and Coventry City will meet in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday 18 September at 8pm UK time at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Ange Postecoglou remains optimistic about Spurs' chances of winning a title this season despite successive Premier League defeats and while the Lilywhites can comfortably rule themselves out of contention for top spot, here is how they could line up for the EFL Cup, a competition they have a chance of winning.
Goalkeeper – Guglielmo Vicario has played in all of Tottenham's Premier League games but goalkeepers are often rotated in the early stages of cup competitions. The Italian is therefore likely to make way for Fraser Forster to make his first appearance of the campaign.
Defenders – Tottenham's defence has been far from solid, especially on the last two occasions, but Destiny Udogie and Micky van de Ven could be rested after struggling with fitness issues earlier in the season.
Pedro Porro will retain his place at right-back while Udogie will be replaced by Ben Davies at left-back. Cristian Romero is Spurs' best central defender and will play against Coventry and will be partnered by Romanian international Radu Dragusin.
Son will miss the match, but Werner and Solanke will start
Midfielders – Pape Matar Sarr will start as a defensive midfielder ahead of a relatively strong backline. Ange Postecoglou could give England prodigy Archie Gray his first start of the 2024/25 season and the game against Coventry will be a good opportunity for the former Leeds teenager to show what he has in store.
Dejan Kulusevski will keep his place after having started against ArsenalThe Swede will play a role in midfield and not in the final third.
Forward – Heung-min Son could miss out on starting on the left flank, with Timo Werner set to come in for him. Wilson Odobert could also play on the right wing, ahead of Brennan Johnson, who has been in extremely poor form this season. Dominic Solanke will lead the charge as he hopes to open his Tottenham account.
Here's how the Lilywhites could line up on paper:
