Tomorrow at 3pm, we take on Derby County at White Hart Lane. As mentioned previously, Dimitar Berbatov will be missing due to his groin problem, and Younes Kaboul will be out with his hamstring injury.
Michael Dawson looks likely to be out, so I’m expecting Rocha and Gardner to start in the centre of defence, with Chimbonda at right-back and Stalteri at left-back.
I’m guessing that three out of four positions in midfield will remain the same, with Malbranque, Zokora and Jenas retaining their places. Robbie Keane should vacate the right-wing position and either move upfront or become a substitute, leaving Wayne Routledge to replace him. An alternative would be for Jenas to move to the right-wing and Huddlestone come into the centre of midfield.
Darren Bent should continue in his striking role with either Keane or Jermain Defoe.
Derby have drawn 2-2 at home against Portsmouth and lost 1-0 at Manchester City so far this season.
Their line-up consists mainly of Championship experienced players, however, they have some decent players like Welsh striker Robert Earnshaw and ex-Luton striker Steve Howard.
I’m expecting they’ll come and defend, with the aging Darren Moore leading from the heart of their defence.
I don’t expect them to roll over easily, but we must be creative, get crosses into the box and work at them until they break down.
We should get a win, but on the performances of the last few games it’s vital that we play as a team and defend as a team, as with that as a solid base we should finally gain our first points of the season.