Antonio Conte surely will finally start ‘unbelievable’ Tottenham player against Forest tomorrow – opinion

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Antonio Conte finally has an opportunity tomorrow to rotate his Tottenham Hotspur side.

Spurs’ Carabao Cup tie against Nottingham Forest offers Conte the chance to look at some of his lesser used players.

Conte admitted he was happy with his side’s performance on Sunday against Liverpool, despite the 2-1 defeat.

However, giving some of his fringe players a chance to perform may not be a bad thing going into the World Cup break.

The Italian is going to have to make some decisions on which players he wants to keep and who can leave in January.

He’s already insisted that he wants cover for Dejan Kulusevski in attack after their performances dipped in his absence.

There’s also a feeling that Bryan Gil may finally be allowed to leave the club on loan once a replacement is signed.

One player that needs to start for Tottenham tomorrow is full-back Djed Spence.

Spence was signed with a huge amount of promise in the summer from Middlesbrough for £20m.

His performance for Nottingham Forest on loan in the Championship were exceptional.

However, he’s yet to make his first start under Conte, and has only been used three times off the bench.

Spence has to start against Forest tomorrow

Antonio Conte’s array of right wing-back options has made it very difficult for Spence to break into the team.

Emerson Royal has started the majority of games in that role this season.

However, the Brazilian has definitely looked shaky at times, and some of his decision making has been questioned.

Matt Doherty was Conte’s first choice last season before picking up a nasty injury.

He’s worked his way back to full fitness, and has linked up well with Kulusevski.

Conte has even used Ivan Perisic and Ryan Sessegnon on the right, despite both players being naturally left-sided.

Spence was described by two-time Middlesbrough teammate Sol Bamba as ‘unbelievable’, but hasn’t made the same mark on Conte.

The Italian has hinted the Spence has been improving since arriving at Spurs, but admitted he’s still waiting for him to get better before starting him.

A report from The Times suggests that Conte may even be ready to loan Spence out in January.

Conte has to start Spence against his previous club tomorrow to give him a chance to show what he can in a first-team environment.

Spence in Conte’s wing-back role

Given Emerson Royal’s recent form, Spurs fans will be desperate to see how someone else can play in that right wing-back role.

Spence’s best attributes should work well within Antonio Conte’s system.

He requires his wing-backs to bomb forward and get involved in attacks, something Spence did brilliantly last season.

It also requires them to have a brilliant work-rate and be effective at challenging wingers in one-on-one situations.

Spence’s defending is similar to that of Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka, where he can nick the ball off attackers quickly.

On paper, it’s a combination that should work very well, but Conte needs to start using Spence in games like tomorrow’s to see if that’s really the case.