Tottenham’s expected lineup against Nottingham Forest

Sitting 11th in the Premier League table and still devoid of a top defender, Ange Postecoglou is not exactly loving life in north London.

Tottenham are undoubtedly having fun and did so again in their 6-3 defeat to league leaders Liverpool, but Postecoglou’s idealism in the absence of the perfect XI is beginning to see the Lilywhites emerge as something of a parody.

It could be great to watch them at full strength and perform impressively against the best teams in the division, but how far can Postecoglou take this? Tottenham a team? Cup performances will be crucial for the Australian this season.

There is no shortage of festive cheers in the white half of north London, and Spurs could face a tough boxing day as they travel to the hotspot. Nottingham Forest. Here’s how visitors can line up at the City Ground.

Goalkeeper: Fraser Forster – Forster performed very well after Guglielmo Vicario broke his foot at the Etihad Stadium, but he had a nightmare several days on home soil. Maybe he’ll be better off away from N17 on Boxing Day.

Right-back: Jed Spence – The deactivation of Pedro Porro’s Instagram account has failed to provide the desired results on the pitch, with the Spaniard continuing to struggle. Spence has been impressive since his integration and could outperform Boro at right-back.

Centre-back: Radu Dragosin – An impressive defender who performs poorly in possession, Dragosin may have excelled under previous regimes in north London. The Romanian remains the only centre-back available at Tottenham.

Midfielder: Archie Gray – The teenager has played everywhere but his preferred position since joining the club, but Gray has shown in recent games that he is undoubtedly an exciting building block for the future.

LB: Destiny Udoji – The Italian international returned from the substitutes at the weekend after suffering an injury Southampton. Postecoglou will have to rotate on Thursday and Udoji could return to the team.

Midfielder: Rodrigo Bentancur – Yves Bissouma has had to play a lot over the past month, but Bentancur has returned from his seven-match suspension. There may be some rust, but the coach may be inclined to give the Malian international some rest.

CM: Pape Sarr – The relentless Senegalese star is a pivotal cog in Postecoglou’s engine room, with his post-match withdrawal on Sunday signaling the trip to the City Ground is preserved.

CM: Diane Kulusevski – The Swede has shown that he can still be effective when operating wide, but Postecoglou will likely move Kulusevski back to the middle of the park. A lot of his good work has come from a central position this season.

RW: Brennan Johnson – Johnson has appeared sporadically as of late and there has been a decline in production. The Welshman has scored 13 goals this season, but has not scored in his previous six matches. However, the rotation should see the winger return to the team for his first game since the 4-3 defeat to Chelsea.

ST: Dominic Solanke – Solanki is doing his best, there is no doubt about that. The big-money summer signing has contributed four goals in his previous two outings, and although there may be concerns of overuse, the coach has little choice but to start Solanke again on Boxing Day.

Left wing: Son Heung-min – The Spurs captain is struggling with his workload and was poor at the weekend. He could use a break here, but Timo Werner has fallen so far down the pecking order that Postecoglou is likely to stick with the fading South Korean star.

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