Tottenham Hotspur have suffered a nosedive in form at the end of their first Premier League campaign under Ange Postecoglou, with the midweek defeat against Manchester City ending hopes of returning to Champions League competition.
Having lost five of their past six games in the division, Spurs need at least a point against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in the final fixture of the term to ensure Chelsea do not leapfrog them into fifth place.
The bottom-placed Blades have been abject on their return to the top flight and, already relegated, face a seventh successive defeat against a Tottenham side that will be expected to close the campaign with a flourish.
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Tottenham’s mountainous injury list will not see any respite until the new season kicks off in August, with Destiny Udogie, Timo Werner, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison and Ben Davies some of the highest-profile absentees.
The host of fitness problems means that Micky van de Ven will likely deputise as full-back again, while Rodrigo Bentancur should partner Pape Matar Sarr in the centre of the park.
Dejan Kulusevski might have earned himself a recall after impressing off the bench against Manchester City, but Postecoglou might be inclined to give Tuesday’s 16-year-old debutant Mikey Moore his full debut on the left flank.
Why Ange must consider starting Mikey Moore
Brennan Johnson is the probable player to start on the left flank of Postecoglou’s attack but the Welshman hasn’t been at his best recently and clearly finds more fruits on the alternate wing, with one analyst noting that he “should always start on the right” given half of his 14 goal contributions have come from that deployment.
But Kulusevski isn’t effective on the left either, and given Tottenham’s injury issues leave Heung-min Son needed at centre-forward, there is indeed a wonderful opportunity to hand Moore his first start after making his professional debut down N17 in midweek.
It wouldn’t be unprecedented. Dane Scarlett made his Tottenham debut aged 16 before starting successive matches in the Europa League as a 17-year-old.
And based on Moore’s remarkable season, posting 16 goals and nine assists for the U18s from just 14 outings before sitting on the bench in the Premier League for three games and being introduced at the late stage against City this week, he may well eclipse his fellow Lilywhites academy graduates.
