How will Tottenham line-up against Everton this weekend?

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Defensive-midfield: Eric Dier

Eric Dier is perhaps the most versatile player at Spurs, and would rank among the most versatile in world football. A center back by trade, he scored the winner in his first Premier League start during the 14/15 season… A Matchday 1, stoppage time beauty away to West Ham. Pochettino moved Dier to his defensive midfield position at the start of the 15/16 season, and he has blossomed in that role. In his two short years at Spurs, Dier has scored Tottenham’s first goal in each of those two seasons (the other to open the score sheet at White Hart Lane last season v Stoke). And, staying on script, he also opened the scoring for England at Euro 2016 with a cracker of a free kick as the Three Lions drew Russia, 1-1. What makes Dier so unique and so valuable to Spurs is that he possesses and offensive and defensive mentality. He gets right in the mix on set pieces and plays big – bigger than his 6’1” frame – but he’s very quick on his feet to recover on the counter. As an added bonus, he will offer cover to a youthful, but inexperienced Carter-Vickers as he adjusts to first-team play.

Defensive-midfield: Victor Wanyama

The addition of Victor Wanyama from Southampton was one of the most important for the Lilywhites during the transfer window. The 6’2” defensive midfielder was the first Kenyan to play in both the Scottish Premier League (Celtic, 11/12) and the Premier League (Southampton, 13/14). Originally signed as a central midfielder, he made the move to defensive mid upon signing with Celtic. The current captain of the Kenya National Team, Wanyama has been capped 43 times – most among his current teammates on the Kenyan national team. Wanyama will definitely start in place of the suspended Dembélé, which is obviously a critical position for Spurs. Of equal importance, especially upon Dembélé’s return, is that Wanyama can bring the ball forward, allowing Dier (or Dembélé) to recover. Dier covers a lot of ground on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, and we all know the pace and box-to-box play of Dembélé and his importance in attacking creativity. Wanyama provides that cover: in recovery for the other defensive mid on the field with him, valuable “rest” time to keep Dier and Dembélé fresh for multiple competitions, and he also brings with him the ability to score goals. For all these reasons, adding Wanyama to the core of the defensive midfield will be fruitful for Pochettino’s Spurs.

Left-wing: Christian Eriksen

One of the two major success stories from the “summer of Bale” transfer window, Eriksen is capable of playing any of the three forward midfield roles. A true number 10, Eriksen has been shifted out to the left, but he’s still the prototypical number 10 on the field. In Poch’s 4-2-3-1 formation, the attacking midfielders rotate through the attacking zones. With Erik Lamela typically on the right and Dele Alli tucking in behind Harry Kane, we’ll often see all three players rotate through the most central attacking midfield positions. Eriksen is best known for his late winners and deadly service from free kicks. As a brief refresher from my last blog, he ranked second in the Premier League in assists in 15/16 after not having earned top ten rankings in that category since his arrival at White Hart Lane. Eriksen delivered 146 crosses and was over the ball 129 times on corners. While he found the back of the net just six times in 15/16 in the Premier League (down from ten in 14/15), he created 114 chances and had a staggering 81% passing accuracy rate (1,228 of 1,516). Pound for pound, Eriksen is the core of Spurs versatile attacking midfield.

Centre-attacking-midfield: Dele Alli

The best way to describe the 15/16 PFA Young Player of the Year is that he plays full of piss and vinegar (with vig and vigour for the youngsters). He exemplifies all that is Pochettino’s player development philosophy: Alli is young, ambitious, talented and plays hard from the opening whistle until the end of the match. Capped 12 times by Roy Hodgson, Alli’s first international goal came at the expense of teammate Hugo Lloris in his fourth cap: a cracker from distance to put England on top 1-0 en route to a 2-0 win over France at Wembley in 2015. Alli netted 10 League goals in his debut season for Spurs, good for 19^th in the Premier League and 2^nd on Spurs behind Harry Kane. His passing is skilled and intricate, although sometimes risky (76% passing accuracy). The “risky” passing is actually a positive, as his touch is sublime and instinctive inside the 18’; it also creates chances (44 in league play in 15/16). His connection with Harry Kane is tremendous, and grew throughout the season. Look for that to continue in 16/17 from the 20-year-old. I’m very curious (and excited) to see the link-up play between Alli, Kane and Vincent Janssen should Poch tinker with a 4-4-2 at some point this season (and I presume that he will). We got a delicious sneak peek for a short spell during Spurs 6-1 dismantling of Inter in their final friendly.

Right-wing: Erik Lamela

What else can I say about Erik Lamela that I haven’t already said in my last two blog posts? Much like Alli and Eriksen, he is versatile enough to play all three attacking midfield positions, although he’s at his best on the right flank and has a tremendous connection with Walker, Alli and Kane in advanced attacking positions. What impressed me most in Spurs rout of Inter on Friday was Lamela’s maturity. After netting a spectacular, physics-defying curler from distance in the 39’, Lamela found himself in position to tuck away his second goal of the match. Instead, he cut the ball back to the feet of Shayon Harrison and gave the youngster the opportunity to finish. If 15/16 was a breakthrough year for Lamela, 16/17 will be his signature season.