Defenders:
One of the reasons why Tottenham came close to winning their maiden Premier League title was because of their defence. Key to that was Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, who formed an impressive pairing at the heart of the Spurs defence, which was rock solid throughout the season.
While the loss of Vincent Kompany would have been a major blow for the Red Devils, the presence of a central defensive pairing with such a great understanding is something that will soften the blow greatly. In fact, the Manchester City captain's injury might be a blessing in disguise as it allows the coach to play both Alderweireld and Vertonghen at centre back, where they are most effective instead of at full back.
Speaking of full backs, the right back slot will go to Jason Denayer. While it is true that the 20-year-old is a centre back by trade, he has played on the right for both his club Galatasaray and country in the last 12 months. Even in the friendlies leading up to the Euros, he has played on the right and that is likely to be his starting position in Belgium's opener.
Who takes the left back slot will be a question of youth or experience as the two candidates for the slot are Jordan Lukaku and Thomas Vermaelen. While the 21-year-old Lukaku is the future, despite his lack of regular appearances for Barcelona, Vermaelen might be the favourite to start against Italy owing to his experience and the coach's recent comments about Lukaku still needing to iron out certain flaws from his play.
