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Tomorrow afternoon, Tottenham Hotspur’s quest to make a final of another domestic cup continues as they play Everton in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup at Goodison Park. Spurs are finally showing sparks of life after a dismal month of football capped by a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at the weekend.
Today, in his press conference, Spurs manager Jose Mourinho gave an update on his team, saying that Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso continue to recover from their injuries and casting doubt on the status of Serge Aurier, who left the West Brom match with a calf injury. But the big question, as expected, centered around Dele.
"Dele trained yesterday and well. Long time away. Can he play tomorrow? I don't know. Not injured but not fit. Can he help us? To have him on the bench, it's something I'll have to ask him. I think he can."
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) February 9, 2021
If you are inclined to believe Mourinho when he talks about Dele being injured the past few weeks (and let’s face it, he lies about injuries), then this is good news. Even having Dele on the bench potentially gives Mourinho an option at the #10 position behind someone like Erik Lamela or Tanguy Ndombele, and that’s good for Spurs not only in this match but going forward.
On the other hand, I’m still super irritated at Mourinho for, y’know, everything, and so my initial reaction at seeing those quotes as to think “oh NOW you ask his opinion?” But even that feels a bit like a win, as it implies that the ice is cracking between Mourinho and Dele and that there may really be a way for Dele to get back into this team. And for sure, Spurs need him.
With another huge match this weekend at a Manchester City club that now looks like they’re going to walk the league, it’s likely that we’re going to see some rotation. What looks like is anyone’s guess, but it probably involves a freshening up at centerback, possibly with Eric Dier or Joe Rodon moving back into the side. We might see one of Moussa Sissoko or Harry Winks come into the midfield, and I’d expect Steven Bergwijn to start in place of Lucas Moura. Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min will start because of course they will.
The FA Cup 5th Round match against Everton kicks off at 3:15 p.m. ET, 8:15 p.m. GMT. It is televised on BT Sport 1 in the UK and streamed on ESPN+ in the States.