Tottenham predicted XI vs RB Leipzig: Mourinho faces striker crisis

Tottenham Hotspur take on RB Leipzig in their Champions League last-16 first-leg in North London on Wednesday night.  

Spurs, who reached the final last season, advanced to this stage by finishing second in their group behind Bayern Munich.

Now Jose Mourinho’s side face a tough test from another German outfit – this time in the shape of RB Leipzig.

Headed by an exciting young coach in Julian Nagelsmann and with a squad full of young talent, the Bundesliga high-flyers topped a group containing Lyon, Benfica and Zenit.

So despite playing in just their second Champions League campaign, this will be a far from easy tie for Tottenham.

With that in mind, which players will be tasked with the challenge of getting a result to take to Germany? Here we predict Mourinho’s XI for Wednesday’s first-leg…..

Goalkeeper: Spurs have yet to taste defeat since Hugo Lloris returned from injury last month. He will hope to continue that record on Wednesday night.

Defenders: After returning from injury against Aston Villa, Ben Davies will continue at left-back in a defence alongside Serge Aurier, Toby Alderweireld and, with Jan Vertonghen out of favour, Davinson Sanchez.

Midfielders: After being rested at the weekend, Giovani Lo Celso should return to the XI after his recent performances. Expect the Argentine to line-up alongside Englishman Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele in the midfield. The Frenchman didn’t feature at the weekend but has impressed in European competitions with Lyon over the past two seasons.

Forwards: Spurs have been struck with the news that Son Heung-Min could be our for the rest of the season. With the South Korea international joining fellow star forward Harry Kane on the injury list Mourinho’s options are limited. We expect the Portuguese to play Dele Alli slightly further forward in support of Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn.

Predicted XI: Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies; Ndombele, Winks, Lo Celso; Alli, Moura, Bergwijn.