by Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou will not underestimate FA Cup minnows Tamworth but has hinted that key duo Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke could be rested on Sunday.
Spurs travel to National League club Tamworth buoyed by a midweek Carabao Cup win over Liverpool but are still without at least eight players for this third round tie.
Tottenham have struggled over the past six weeks with a busy schedule coupled with injury issues, resulting in Kulusevski and Solanke starting each of the past seven games.
Only full-back Pedro Porro has played more minutes than the attacking pair this season, but Kulusevski and Solanke could get the chance to watch from the substitutes’ bench at the Lamb Ground with Pape Sarr, James Maddison and Mikey Moore set to play a few minutes.
“We have to be aware that we don’t want this to turn into a tricky match for us, we want to make sure we play our best,” Postecoglou said.
“The return of Mikey certainly helps in that forward third, the return of Pape and Maddison helps us in midfield.
“In terms of central defender and right back, we are still quite limited in terms of what we can do in terms of rotation, but hopefully we can rest at least a few players after a full 90 minutes of football.”
Postecoglou was asked if any of the inexperienced members of his squad could feature this weekend with academy graduates Alfie Dorrington and Will Lankshear regularly named on the bench over the past month.
While Lankshear has started twice for Tottenham in order to become a viable candidate to start against Tamworth, it seems unlikely that centre-back Dorrington will enter the line-up and could instead leave on loan.
Postecoglou added: “Alfie probably needs to get some game time so we will look for a loan move for him.”
One player guaranteed a start is new goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, who impressed on his debut against Liverpool more than three weeks after his last appearance for Slavia Prague.
“Toni will start,” Postecoglou confirmed. “He feels he needs to play. He felt a little rusty and it makes sense to give him another game and get him back into the group playing football.
Kinsky will be ready for an aerial battle on Sunday, with Tamworth midfielder Tom Tonks renowned for his ability to throw long.
A heavy responsibility will also fall on centre-back Radu Dragusin, who has been thrust into a leadership role due to the absences of fellow defenders Ben Davies, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero for most of December.
With Davies close to being fit again after a hamstring injury, Dragusin is expected to once again partner teenage midfielder Archie Gray at the heart of Spurs’ back four in Staffordshire and Postecoglou has paid tribute to the Romanian international.
Postecoglou said: “Radu is only 22 and still struggling in the Premier League. He would be fine if he was surrounded by players who play regularly, but he has an 18-year-old alongside him who is not a central defender (and) three different goalkeepers.
“I just think him and Archie have been incredible for us given the circumstances and we will get growth from that. I really believe it.
“We are happy with Radu and the way he is developing. He had to fight. He was sick last week and he was far from 100 percent.
“He’s probably someone who needs a little rest, but we don’t have any options there.” Every week he gets up and keeps going.
