Tottenham Hotspur face the unenviable task of traveling away to The Etihad to take on reigning Premier League champions Manchester City this evening.
Ange Postecoglou's side do not come into the match in the best of form as they have lost each of their last three top-flight games in recent weeks.
Spurs have been beaten 4-1 by Chelsea, 2-1 by Wolverhampton Wanderers, and 2-1 by Aston Villa, and this run came after they won eight and lost none of their opening ten league outings.
The loss to Villa was the most recent defeat for Tottenham as goals from Pau Torres and Ollie Watkins either side of half time cancelled out the opening strike from Gio Lo Celso, who had given the hosts the lead in the match.
Postecoglou could look to make alterations to his starting XI from that clash with the Villans and his hand will be forced with one as Rodrigo Bentancur is set to miss out, as one of a number of players missing through injury.
Latest Spurs injury news
The Spurs head coach has a plethora of injury issues to contend with ahead of this match against Pep Guardiola's side, which makes the task of picking up all three points all the more difficult.
James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Manor Solomon, Ivan Perisic, Richarlison, Ryan Sessegnon are all confirmed long-term absentees.
Pape Matar Sarr, who missed out on the loss to Villa, was a doubt for today's game and he will not be available due to a slight hamstring strain, which does not suggest that it will be a long-term issue for the central midfielder.
And, of course, Bentancur will not be in the matchday squad this evening as the Uruguay international was forced off injured in the first half of last weekend's match.
The former Juventus man was brought down by a very late challenge by Matty Cash and is now set to be out for ten weeks with ankle ligament damage, which is due to rule him out until the new year.
This means that Postecoglou will be forced into a change in midfield as Bentancur had started alongside Lo Celso in the middle of the park against Villa.
Minutes played
32
Sofascore rating
7.1
Pass success rate
86%
Duel success rate
100%
Dribble success rate
100%
Thankfully, Mali international Yves Bissouma is set to be available for selection against Manchester City after serving a one-match suspension against Villa.
The Australian tactician must now unleash the former Brighton & Hove Albion star in midfield to replace Bentancur ahead of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who came off the bench in his place against Villa.
Bissouma is a better option than the Denmark international and should be brought straight back into the starting XI against the champions.
Hojbjerg's season in numbers
The former Southampton enforcer has struggled to make a positive impression on the pitch when he has been given an opportunity to make an impact this season.
He has made 12 Premier League appearances throughout the 2023/24 campaign to date and left a lot to be desired with his contributions both in and out of possession.
Hojbjerg currently ranks 15th within the squad for tackles (0.8), 14th for interceptions (0.4), and 12th for clearances (0.8) per game in the top-flight.
Despite ranking so lowly among his teammates in those key defensive actions, only five other players in the squad have been dribbled past more than his 0.8 times per match – the joint-most of any central midfielder.
This suggests that opposition players have found it far too easy to get the better of him as he has been dribbled past as many times as he has made successful tackles to cut out attacks and win possession for his team.
In possession, the 28-year-old battler ranks 17th within the group for key passes (0.1) and 15th for dribbles completed (0.3) per outing. He has also averaged 7.96 progressive carries and passes combined per 90 over the last 365 days in domestic and European action.
Hojbjerg, who has lost 54% of his duels and 83% of his aerial battles in the Premier League, has not offered much in the way of quality on or off the ball, as shown by the aforementioned statistics in comparison to his teammates.
Bissouma's season in numbers
On the other hand, Bissouma is better than the Danish dud and has been in sublime form since Postecoglou came through the door.
The Mali international struggled at times during his debut campaign at Spurs with an average Sofascore rating of 6.68 across 23 appearances, with 1.2 tackles and interceptions and 0.3 key passes per game.
He did not showcase his true qualities and the new Tottenham head coach has been able to get the best out of the central midfielder so far this season.
Bissouma has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.17 across 11 top-flight starts this term and caught the eye with his contributions in and out of possession.
The £55k-per-week whiz has averaged 9.67 progressive passes and carries combined per 90 this season, which ranks him within the top 16% of Premier League midfielders in each of those two statistics respectively. He is also in the top 2% of his peers for successful take-ons (2.14) per 90.
These statistics show that the 27-year-old ace is an excellent progressive midfielder who can get his team up the pitch through passes and carries.
The midfield "monster" – as he was once described by journalist Aaron Stokes – has not shirked away from his defensive responsibilities.
Bissouma currently ranks joint-first within the squad for tackles (3.3), first for interceptions (1.6), and eighth for clearances (1.7) per match in the Premier League.
The impressive whiz, who also ranks second for dribbles completed (1.9) and 12th for key passes (0.5) per outing, excels at winning possession back for his team by going out to make tackles and interceptions to stop opposition attacks.
Overall, his statistics show that he has far more to offer to the team than Hojbjerg, in terms of the defensive and offensive contributions that the ex-Brighton dynamo can make, and that is why Postecoglou must unleash him alongside Lo Celso.