Thomas Frank has named a full-strength Tottenham team to face Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening, with Dominic Solanke and Destiny Udogie both returning to the matchday squad after lengthy injury absences.
Frank Selects Full-Strength Tottenham XI With Solanke and Udogie Back for Villa Cup Tie
The Spurs manager has made five changes from the side that suffered a 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth, with Kevin Danso partnering Micky van de Ven in central defence following Cristian Romero’s suspension. Pedro Porro and Ben Davies occupy the full-back positions, while Udogie returns to the bench after recovering from his hamstring problem that has kept him sidelined.
Solanke makes his first appearance in a matchday squad after four-and-a-half months out through injury, providing Frank with additional attacking options from the substitutes’ bench. Archie Gray and Joao Palhinha start as the central midfield pairing, representing Frank’s only fit options in that position following injuries to Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall.
The attacking lineup features Tel, Xavi and Odobert supporting striker Richarlison, with Randal Kolo Muani dropping to the bench after his disappointing display at the Vitality Stadium. Frank has also included youngsters Luca Williams-Barnett and Jun’ai Byfield among the substitutes alongside the returning duo of Solanke and Udogie.
Tottenham will be looking to bounce back from their recent setbacks and progress in the FA Cup, with Frank confirming his intention to field a strong team despite the club’s injury problems. The manager revealed that Mohammed Kudus remains unavailable until April, further limiting his squad options as Spurs continue to deal with a mounting injury list across multiple positions.
