Antonio Conte says Oliver Skipp is definitely going to start for Tottenham tonight

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Antontio Conte has confirmed that Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr are going to start for Tottenham Hotspur tonight.

Conte was speaking to the media ahead of their Champions League last-16 tie against AC Milan.

It’s a huge match for Tottenham, as they look to bounce back from Saturday’s poor result against Leicester City.

Not only did they come away without any points, the performance was seriously worrying.

Rodrigo Bentancur opened the scoring, but limped off with a knee injury that has now ruled him out for the season.

It leaves Conte short of midfield options, with Yves Bissouma also expected to be out for some time after having ankle surgery.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is also unavailable tonight due to suspension, and so the Conte has a dilemma on his hands.

Conte has now confirmed that Skipp and Sarr will partner each other in midfield for Tottenham this evening.

It’s set to be one of the biggest games of their club careers, and the pressure is on for both of them to perform.

Conte says Skipp and Sarr will start for Tottenham tonight

The Italian manager addressed the media last night, and said: “The last two weeks happen. Everything happens.

“I started with my surgery and then Hugo has his injury against City, then two other surgeries with Bissouma and then Rodrigo.

“It’s a big, big loss for us. But I don’t want these losses to become an alibi for us.

“Tomorrow we have two young players, Skipp and Sarr, to play in midfield. We trust them.

“Tomorrow we have to be good to help them to overcome the emotion and feed their confidence to play, because I repeat we are talking about two young players with really good prospects.”

Oliver Skipp is one of the most highly rated academy graduates Spurs have produced in recent years.

His emergence allowed the club to move on the likes of Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele in the summer.

He’s had his fitness issues, but was denied a loan move in January to play more regular minutes.

It appeared as though Pape Matar Sarr had jumped above Skipp in the pecking order after being given the nod in last month’s North London Derby.

He had to wait 18 months to make his senior Spurs debut, but now looks set to play his first Champions League match.

Conte will be hoping tonight’s game will be the making of Sarr and Skipp for Tottenham.

AC Milan are in poor form, and could very much be there for the taking for Spurs.