Roberto De Zerbi will be tasked with picking arguably the most important XI of his brief Tottenham Hotspur tenure so far ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Stamford Bridge.
While most of the team picks itself, there are several positions where changes could be made, and Randal Kolo Muani must not start against Chelsea.
After a shambolic performance against Leeds United, the on-loan PSG forward has done nothing to justify keeping his place in the starting eleven at the most critical juncture of Tottenham’s season.
The Frenchman was dispossessed eight times during the Leeds match. In a match that Spurs needed maximum points, their centre-forward spent the evening gifting possession back to a side that had nothing to play for.
Kolo Muani is only on loan at Tottenham, and relegation holds no real consequences for him. Should Spurs go down, he simply returns to PSG and reassesses his future. Unlike Richarlison, unlike Gallagher, unlike every player whose career trajectory is directly tied to what happens in the next two matches, the 27-year-old faces zero personal jeopardy.
The history against Chelsea adds further cause for concern. The last time Kolo Muani faced Chelsea in a Premier League fixture, he failed to register a single shot — part of a run in which he went four consecutive league games without a shot on goal. De Zerbi cannot select a striker in that form for a match of this magnitude and expect a different outcome.
Admittedly, the forward options available to De Zerbi are desperately slim, with Dominic Solanke, Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski all having missed the Leeds fixture through injury.
Solanke could return at Stamford Bridge, and if he does, the decision makes itself, but even if he does not, the likes of Lucas Bergvall or the returning James Maddison deserve the nod ahead of a player who appears to have already mentally checked out.
Spurs need fighters on Tuesday evening. Kolo Muani has not looked like one for months.