Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has a full-fit squad to select from on Saturday as Spurs face arch rivals Arsenal in the North London Derby at Wembley.
As such, the Argentine trainer has a number of tough calls to make across the park, with the first one what formation he will field for the Premier League fixture.
Toby Alderweireld’s absence over the last few months has seen the Tottenham manager revert to a back four, with this ploy working well and allowing all four of the club’s main attacking stars to feature higher up the pitch.
However, with the Belgian centre-half coming through 90 minutes against Newport County in midweek, the critical defender is seemingly in line to feature for Spurs on Saturday.
Alderweireld’s availability means that Pochettino will need to field a three-man central defence, or drop Davinson Sanchez to the Tottenham bench and operate with a back four.
At right-back, or right wing-back, Serge Aurier also featured against Newport and will be in the running to retain his place against Arsenal.
While Kieran Trippier played well in Tottenham’s win over Manchester United, the Ivorian is widely considered as the superior option in the position.
Further up the pitch, despite Victor Wanyama’s wonder-goal against Liverpool, the Spurs manager will most likely continue with Eric Dier in the boiler room alongside Mousa Dembele.
In attack, Son Heung-min played an hour against Newport and deserves to retain a starting berth – but should Tottenham play a back three, the South Korean is the most likely man to be relegated to the bench.
Erik Lamela’s man of the match performance in the FA Cup boosts the Argentine’s confidence, but he is surely set to return to the Spurs bench, while Lucas Moura could also join him among the substitutes.
As such, my predicted starting XI sees Pochettino return to the majority of the Tottenham starting XI that played against United and Liverpool, with eight changes from midweek.
Predicted Tottenham starting XI vs Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Dembele; Eriksen, Alli, Son; Kane