Bale to start? - How Tottenham could line up against Brighto

1:29pm on Saturday 30th January 2021
By Emmet Gates

Jose Mourinho is set to make several changes for Tottenham ahead of their clash against Brighton in the wake of their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in midweek.

The big news, of course, coming out of the game was the injury to striker Harry Kane.

Kane injured both ankles in the defeat to the reigning Premier League champions and will spend the next several weeks on the sidelines.

As a consequence, Gareth Bale could be handed a rare start for Spurs. The Welshman has struggled to make his mark since his comeback from Real Madrid, and has only registered one goal in the Premier League so far.

Carlos Vinicius could be another beneficiary of Kane's injury, with the former Benfica striker also set to be handed a start.

In defence, Serge Aurier and Matt Doherty could be dropped due to poor performances against Liverpool. This means that Japhet Tanganga should get the nod at right-back, with Ben Davies staying on the opposite flank in Sergio Reguilon's absence.

Mourinho has revealed that Joe Rodon will start, and Eric Dier could well make way for Toby Alderweireld in the heart of the defence.

Tanguy Ndombele could well be re-positioned further forward, following Mourinho's experiment of playing him next to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Mourinho's tinkering of systems didn't really work, and so he may resort to reverting back to his standard 4-2-3-1 formation.

Moussa Sissoko may be the one to drop back into the double pivot, with Hojbjerg. Bale could occupy the attacking position on the right-hand side, with South Korean Son Heung-min on the left.