Two of Gameweek 17’s most popular captaincy options start this lunchtime affair, as Son Heung-min (£9.7m) and new father Harry Kane (£11.0m) aim to halt Spurs’ winless streak of four league matches.
Jose Mourinho’s side have had a longer rest than planned, due to the late postponement of Gameweek 16’s meeting with Fulham. It has been six days since their 1-1 draw at Wolves.
His two changes see Toby Alderweireld (£5.4m) and Steven Bergwijn (£7.0m) replace Davinson Sanchez (£5.3m) and Sergio Reguilon (£5.7m), as pictures emerge of the left-back being at a festive gathering alongside team mates Giovani Lo Celso (£6.9m) and Erik Lamela (£5.7m).
The latter two are now reported to have Covid-19 and do not make the matchday squad, although Reguilon is named as a substitute. A club statement states they are “extremely disappointed and strongly condemn” the actions of these players.
Gareth Bale (£9.3m) is still out with the calf injury sustained at Stoke, whilst Matt Doherty (£5.7m) starts at right-back.
Opponents Leeds are the talk of the town these days, with an entertaining style of football delivering 60 goals so far – 30 for, 30 against. No team has been involved in more, made even more remarkable by the lack of festive rotation.
Marcelo Bielsa’s sides are meant to tire quickly and let the season fade away, yet they visit North London on the back of a 5-0 destruction of West Brom and a solid 1-0 win over Burnley.
Therefore, Bielsa has once again named an unchanged starting 11. The same players have started the last six matches except for one difference – Pascal Struijk (£3.9m) replaced the injured Liam Cooper (£4.3m) for the most recent three.
That means another start for Patrick Bamford (£6.6m), hoping to add to the ten goals and five assists that make him the third highest-scoring FPL striker. It also see Mateusz Klich (£5.5m) recover from the midweek knock on his thigh.
Ahead of Gameweek 19, where their pair of fixtures against Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton are amongst the most appealing, a number of managers have bought exciting winger Raphinha (£5.5m) and attacking full-back Stuart Dallas (£4.8m).
Both continue to start for Bielsa, with Luke Ayling (£4.5m) filling in at centre back until defensive injuries begin to heal. Ezgjan Alioski (£4.5m) has excelled since coming in at left back.
Tottenham Hotspur XI: Lloris; Doherty, Alderweireld, Dier, Davies; Hojbjerg, Winks, Ndombele, Bergwijn, Kane, Son
Leeds United XI: Meslier; Dallas, Ayling, Struijk, Alioski; Phillips; Raphinha, Klich, Rodrigo, Harrison; Bamford
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3 years, 3 months agoHaving a strong bench doesn't make you a grand master. You lose some points by doing it, you gain some points. It's a balance that you can't navigate perfectly. Taking the risk to go with a weak bench isn't necessarily a sign of a bad manager. It could pay off for a week, a month or a season. There are lots of factors. Things happen. Losing my train of thought here.