Tottenham welcome League One’s Gillingham for their first match of the rebranded EFL Cup on Wednesday, and we’ve got almost all you need to know about it.
First off, the competition. Formerly known generically as the Football League Cup, and branded as everything from the Milk Cup to the Carling Cup to, most recently, the Capital One Cup, the knock-out tournament’s attempting to align itself with England’s similarly re-named lower league structure. The rules and format are all the same as prior iterations of the competition.
Second, the opposition. Tottenham’s entire into the tournament in its third round, facing off against Gillingham — or “The Gills” for short. They beat League One opponents Southend 3-1 to take the first round, then saw off Watford in extra time 2-1 to advance past the second.
Take no shame if you’re unfamiliar with the Gills — the club from the South East only briefly toyed with national relevance during a short stretch of time in what is now the Championship in the early 2000s.
Since then the club’s oscillated between League One and League Two. They currently sit 11th after eight matches so far this season, having lost two of their last three.
All of which is to say, Tottenham represent a pretty significant challenge to Gillingham’s EFL Cup hopes.
Let’s break down how Tottenham will set up on the field, and specifically which bench players will get a chance to impress Mauricio Pochettino in the mid-week outing.
Possible Starting XI and Tactics
It’s fair to assume that Pochettino would want a fairly robust rotation for this match against Gillingham.
The quality of the opposition plays into that assumption, but so does Tottenham’s commitments to the Premier League this weekend and, shortly thereafter, a trip to Russia to take on CKSA Moscow in the Champions League. Pochettino will want all of his strongest starters — even if there’s some debate about who those might be — rested and ready for the next week of action.
Thankfully, Pochettino’s never had more options to choose from. Summer recruitment and a couple promotions from the academy filled Tottenham’s bench to the point of overflowing this season. If he wanted to, Pochettino could name an almost entirely new starting XI to the one that beat Sunderland 1-0 over the weekend.
Past experience tells us that Pochettino will continue to rely on some experienced players to form of the core of even a side named for a domestic cup. It would not be shocking to see Michel Vorm, Toby Alderweireld and Victor Wanyama in the starting XI.
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Elsewhere it’s less clear. Ben Davies will presumably re-earn his spot as left-back, with Kieran Trippier coming into right-back. Pochettino publically stated his preference for Cameron Carter-Vickers over Kevin Wimmer, so it’s likely the young American also gets a start in the back-line.
Harry Winks’ chemsitry with Wanyama in Tottenham’s pre-season trip to Australia makes it likely that the young English midfielder plays his first minutes since signing a new contract last week. Tom Carroll might also feature, if not from the start then certainly from the bench.
The four players that cap Tottenham’s XI represent perhaps the biggest question marks. Christian Eriksen and Érik Lamela were rested on the weekend, but it seems doubtful they start here. We are more likely to see Moussa Sissoko earn a consecutive start alongside Josh Onomah and, perhaps, Georges-Kévin N’Koudou, the latter earning his debut on the left wing.
Should the Frenchman’s language difficulties keep him out of the side, there’s a better than decent chance that hot shot academy product Marcus Edwards comes in. The 17-year-old signed a new contract over the summer reportedly with the promise of a first team chance attached.
Harry Kane’s twisted ankle shifts Tottenham’s goal burden to newcomer Vincent Janssen. Consequently, Pochettino might not be anxious to give the 22-year-old three starts in less than a week.
In his stead will likely come Shayon Harrison. Pochettino previously talked up the 19-year-old striker, and thus far this season he’s lived up to the hype. In four matches with Tottenham’s under-21 squad, Harrison’s scored three goals and assisted another. He should be ready for a proper test, especially against a League One defense.
Compiled together, this is an experimental but strong Tottenham XI. Given the opposition and the tools at Pochettino’s disposal, we can expect Tottenham to play a direct, vertical game that puts pressure on Gillingham’s backline early and often. Even a midfield duo of Wanyama and Winks should provide enough control to keep the pressure up and the ball on the feet of the forward line.
Overconfidence can sometimes be an issue for this Tottenham team. Last week’s disappointing 2-1 defeat to Monaco provides some evidence for this. Even if the EFL Cup isn’t quite as prestigious, Pochettino will be expecting a performance all the same.
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