Ange Postecoglou will know the vast majority of his Tottenham starters against West Ham(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)

Nine Tottenham players guaranteed to start vs West Ham as Ange Postecoglou faces two big decisions

Ange Postecoglou could possibly make changes to his Tottenham side when they return to Premier League action against West Ham

13 Oct 2024, 06:00 by Rob Guest · football.london

Tottenham will be looking to bounce back immediately when Premier League football returns after the international break. On the losing side before the pause in play following a 3-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion, Spurs were well on course to collect another three points before letting a two-goal lead slip in the second half at the Amex Stadium.

That is why it is vital that Ange Postecoglou's side return to winning ways in the Saturday lunchtime game against West Ham. The Lilywhites also need the three points to ensure that the current four-point gap between themselves and Chelsea in fourth is not extended further.

Tottenham have fared well on the whole against West Ham since Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened its doors for the first time back in 2019 but the Hammers have picked up a couple of notable results in N17. Winning 1-0 at Spurs' home in April 2019 and also last December, the east London club recovered from a three-goal deficit to salvage a point following three late strikes in October 2020.

Julen Lopetegui's team have not enjoyed the best of starts to this season but they will certainly be feeling a lot more confident after hitting Ipswich Town for four last time out. So are there any Tottenham players guaranteed to start for Postecoglou against the Hammers? football.london takes a look below.

In goal, Guglielmo Vicario is an automatic starter for Spurs and will take his place between the sticks against the Hammers. Postecoglou's Tottenham defence then picks itself as Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie all start.

The only thing that could possibly change Postecoglou's decision is the quick turnaround for Romero with Argentina playing in the early hours of Wednesday morning and Tottenham playing first on Saturday. As Udogie struggled in the Brighton defeat, Djed Spence has the opportunity to catch the head coach's eye with a full week on the training ground working under him.

However, it's hard to see Postecoglou moving away from his usual back four in order to bring Radu Dragusin and Spence into the side. In midfield, there's a question over Rodrigo Bentancur's place in the side as Yves Bissouma could possibly come in at the base of Tottenham's midfield.

Bentancur did not have the best of games at Brighton and that could open the door for the Mali international to start. Two players who are guaranteed to start in midfield are Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison.

The same goes for Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson in attack. Timo Werner started last time out at Brighton but he could possibly make way if Son Heung-min is in a position to start again after his recent hamstring injury.

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