Predicted Spurs XI v Fulham: £50k-a-week man picked over 65-cap ace, one player kept from FA Cup win

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Tottenham Hotspur are in Premier League action against Fulham on Wednesday night, with Jose Mourinho expected to recall his big guns after Spurs’ FA Cup third-round victory at the weekend.

On Monday, the Premier League sanctioned a late fixture change following medical advice that the situation at Aston Villa – who were due to play Tottenham this week – had not sufficiently improved since the weekend.

Ten members of Villa’s first-team squad tested positive for covid, with boss Dean Smith also among those self-isolating – and the Premier League moved quickly to rearrange Spurs’ postponed fixture with Fulham for the same night.

Spurs have won their last three without conceding in three different competitions, a run that has seen them reach the final of the League Cup, the fourth round of the FA Cup and a rise to fourth in the Premier League table.

Fulham, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last five in all competitions and go into this game on the back of a 2-0 win at QPR in the FA Cup, and although their previous four were all draws, one of those was against Liverpool.

So, who could Mourinho pick for Wednesday’s London derby?

Mourinho had the luxury of leaving Hugo Lloris, Serge Aurier, Eric Dier, Harry Winks, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Steven Bergwijn and Harry Kane at home for Sunday’s win at eighth-tier Marine, while Son Heung-min and Tanguy Ndombele were unused substitutes.

Most of those are expected to come back into the XI, with Lloris a shoo-in in between the sticks and a likely back four of Aurier, Dier and Sergio Reguilon, with just Toby Alderweireld to keep his place from the victory on Merseyside.

Although Hojbjerg suffered a nasty-looking wound against Brentford, it wasn’t as bad as it looked in terms of the impact it would have on his ability to play and, as such, he’s expected to return to the XI against the Cottagers.

We predict Winks will get the nod over Moussa Sissoko alongside the Dane, just by virtue of the £50,000-a-week man being fresher as he didn’t play against Marine, while the 65-cap France ace played 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, the front four will probably have a familiar look – an attacking midfield trio of Son, Ndombele and Bergwijn and, of course, Kane leading the line.

Predicted Spurs XI v Fulham (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Winks, Hojbjerg; Bergwijn, Ndombele, Son; Kane