Alan Pardew faces a manager's most difficult choice ahead of tomorrow's early match at White Hart Lane. After a strong performance from a makeshift team last week, does he reward his backups with another start, or hope that his missing regulars were inspired? And how does he solve an interesting problem in midfield, with Yohan Cabaye, Vurnon Anita, and Cheick Tioté all deserving of places in the starting lineup? Here's what I would do in the manager's shoes.
As always, I'll select my own XI, then predict Pardew's starting lineup at the end of the post.
Keeper and back four: Tim Krul; Mathieu Debuchy, Mike Williamson, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Davide Santon
The big decision for Pardew is at center back, where Fabricio Coloccini has recovered from the thigh injury he suffered over the international break. But even for the captain, why would you break up a partnership that looked so strong against Chelsea? As much as it pains his critics to hear it, Williamson has been an asset in his limited playing time this season. He's obviously not a cultured center back, but his one-on-one defending has been effective, and his leadership and organization have also helped. If the long-term goal is to get Yanga-Mbiwa comfortable in the Premier League, his stint alongside Williamson seems to be helping immensely.
Midfield: Cheick Tioté, Vurnon Anita, Yohan Cabaye
Though Tioté limped out of the Chelsea match, he is apparently healthy enough to start tomorrow, and his return to form has been one of the most encouraging signs this season. It's pretty amazing to think that this trio has been among the club's best performers, yet they have not started a single match together. Hopefully, that changes tomorrow. Ideally, both Anita and Cabaye will be given license to join the attack if necessary. We saw what happened last week when Anita came to life around the penalty area, and obviously Cabaye is always a threat to score from 20 yards out. They're both responsible enough defensively to handle a two-way role.
Forwards: Moussa Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran, Loïc Rémy
Though it has been tried unsuccessfully in the past, Sissoko looked good enough on the wing last week that it's worth revisiting this experiment again. His physical ability will present a challenge for Spurs left back Jan Vertonghen. There also looked to be a nice rapport developing between Sissoko and Debuchy that seemed worth trying out one more time.
With Sissoko on the wing, that means another day on the bench for Hatem Ben Arfa, who frankly needed a mental break after an extremely frustrating display in the derby. We discussed the Ben Arfa situation at length in this week's podcast. At the moment, he's essentially stopping the Newcastle attack by holding onto the ball too long, making it virtually impossible for his teammates to time their runs and get into good positions. When it works, he's capable of the spectacular. But when he's out of form, he can drag the whole team down with him. Unlike in previous seasons, there are now alternatives, and Pardew shouldn't hesitate to use them.
(By the way: yes, that's Gouffran in the center once more. And no, I won't stop until Pardew actually tries it in a league match.)
Who Pardew will choose: Krul; Debuchy, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon; Sissoko, Tioté, Cabaye, Gouffran; Sh. Ameobi, Rémy
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