Ange Postecoglou may unleash an entirely new Tottenham midfield against Aston Villa on Sunday

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Ange Postecoglou is now faced with a task to re-energise his Tottenham Hotspur team after the international break, and in particular, his midfield.

A terribly untimely injury to James Maddison has completely altered Postecoglou’s plans for the coming months, however he does still have options.

Although, they are lessened for the visit of Aston Villa.

As well as Maddison’s absence, Yves Bissouma will also be missing through a yellow card suspension.

Meaning two of Tottenham’s midfield three, that have been so successful, will be missing for the game.

As a result, Postecoglou may now introduce two players into his Tottenham midfield that have barely featured all season.

Rodrigo Bentancur’s fitness is now improving all the time, and he could make his first start since returning from injury.

And perhaps more importantly, Giovani Lo Celso may get the nod as a starter given how disconnected Spurs’ attacking lines looked against Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg deservedly kept his spot in the midfield, but may now be sacrificed with more time to plan. 

Ange Postecoglou could deploy an entirely new Tottenham midfield against Aston Villa

Of course, Postecoglou may deem it too bold to put two relatively new faces into his starting eleven.

Pape Matar Sarr’s role is nailed on, but instead of Sarr playing alongside Bentancur in a two, Ange may decide to use the Uruguayan as his play maker.

Perhaps that would minimise the risk against an Aston Villa side who are flying under Unai Emery.

And if Postecoglou did decide to play Bentancur in the advanced role of his Tottenham midfield, that would pave the way for Hojbjerg to sit alongside Sarr.

Spurs’ staff will have been diligently assessing their options over the break, and it’ll certainly be intriguing to see what combination they settle on.

A front three of Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-Min and Dejan Kulusevski seems pretty certain at this point.

And given the possibility of Lo Celso starting on Sunday, it delineates why Tottenham would reject any interest from FC Barcelona in January.

It’s certainly a testing time for Postecoglou’s thin Tottenham squad, but he does still have exciting options in his midfield.

And if Spurs are going to achieve their lofty aspirations this season, they will need to find a quick remedy for £40m Maddison’s absence.