![\"\"](\"http:\/\/spursforlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/spuds.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn terms of attacking personnel, not much has changed for\nTottenham \u2013 although that does come with the caveat that Christian Eriksen is\nstill at the club by the time the first ball of the season is kicked in early\nAugust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should he switch Tottenham for the sunnier climbs of Madrid,\nthen Champions League semi-final hero Lucas Moura, could just as easily fill\nthe void that would then be left by the Danish international\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There has however been one relatively major departure and one\nthat sees Kieran Trippier leaving the club, he himself has moved to Madrid and\nwith the England international now working under Diego Simeone at Atletico, it\nmeans Serge Aurier is ready to make the right back berth his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the same could be said at left back for Ben Davies,\nwith Danny Rose not going to Singapore for Tottenham\u2019s pre-season tour, much\nhas been mentioned regarding his future and it could well be that he is plying\nhis trade for PSG come the start of the upcoming Ligue 1 campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means that the Welsh international Davies, is for all\nintents and purposes Tottenham\u2019s sole left back at the time of writing and\nalthough the club have been linked with a move for Fulham\u2019s Ryan Sessegnon, it\nlooks as if Davies will be patrolling the left side of defence against Aston\nVilla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tottenham\u2019s central defensive partnership is also one that\ncomes with an asterix and that is whether anyone activates the \u00a325m clause that\nis currently attached to Toby Alderweireld, although with time running out, it\ncould well be that this upcoming season is the Belgian\u2019s last in North London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His eventual departure will be a bitter pill to swallow, but\nat the same time the fact that he has not been sold and may still yet sign a\nnew contract, will give fans a reason to be optimistic over the next few months\nand they will hope that he eventually puts pen to paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should no-one swoop in to sign the 30-year-old defender,\nthen it will be he that is installed alongside international teammate Jan\nVertonghen and if he does move on to pastures new, then the defensive berth\nwill be filled by Colombia\u2019s Davinson Sanchez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a look at how Tottenham could set their stall out,\nnow let\u2019s take a look at their opening weekend opposition Aston Villa:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned above Dean Smith has been busy this summer and\nit will mean that the starting eleven that helped Villa get the better of Derby\nin the play-off final, is not necessarily the one that takes to the field\nagainst Tottenham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In defence Matt Targett has joined from Southampton and should\nbe in line to get the nod ahead of fellow left back Neil Taylor, while Tyrone\nMings who did feature at Wembley, has made his loan move from Bournemouth\npermanent and will look to play at centre back once more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question though is just who will partner alongside him,\nas Dean Smith now has a number of options at his disposal and it could also be\nanother loan signing turned permanent that plays alongside Mings, one that\ncomes in the shape of Kourtney Hause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hause played the second half of last season at Villa Park\nwhile on loan from Wolves and there was little time wasted once promotion was\nclinched, in then making sure that the 24-year-old would be staying on a long\nterm basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, if it is not Hause who gets the nod then it might\nbe one of the two other centre backs that have been signed this summer and both\nBjorn Engels and Ezri Konsa will be hoping to be included in the matchday\nsquad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In midfield there is little reason to suggest that the trio\nthat helped Villa earn promotion back in May will be any different and that\nmeans Jack Grealish, Conor Hourihane and John McGinn will once again assume\ntheir positions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While in attack, things will look different after some new\narrivals, none more so than the signing of centre forward Wesley from Belgian\noutfit Club Brugge for a fee of \u00a322m and the Brazilian looks set to be thrust\nstraight into the attack against Tottenham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that there are just the wide forwards left to\ndeploy and the most likely combination will be the threat of Jota who joins\nfrom Brentford and Anwar El Ghazi who again adds to the loanee turned permanent\ncontingent after completing his move from Lille. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These formations should give you a rough idea of how\nTottenham and Aston Villa will setup come August 10th<\/sup> and although\nboth teams will still look for a new face or two before then, not much if at\nall should differ from the lineups that you see above. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"http:\/\/spursforlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/villa.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n