Tottenham Hotspur will need to switch things up to improve

After back to back poor performances, Pochettino should consider switching up his tactics. Though Spurs showcased stellar performances against Dortmund and Real Madrid, the team has struggled against the ‘smaller’ sides in the EPL.

This season, the Lillywhites have enjoyed an average of 62% of the possession every game, which is second best in the league. With Alli and Eriksen very much out of form, there is too much pressure on Harry Kane to convert the chances that come his way.

With the return of Lamela and with Son back in fine form, the pressure on Kane to score and on Eriksen to create will surely be lesser.

If Poch wants his men to be more unforgiving up front, he might want to go with something that he hasn’t experimented yet; a 4-3-3 formation with Kane, Son and Lamela up front and Eriksen, Alli and a defensive midfielder like Dier, Dembele or Wanyama in the middle of the park.

Kane, Lamela and Son should ideally lead the line for Spurs

It was evident from the matches against West Brom and Leicester and from numerous previous occasions, that Spurs need players who can exploit small spaces or simply put- a dribbler; and this is exactly what Lamela and Son could be-- 2 players who run their socks of every game. In the present 3-4-3 formation, it is not possible to incorporate either one of them.

They could act as elements of pace and flair that the team lacked with Eriksen and Alli in the advanced positions last season when they played in the 3-4-3 and 4-2-3-1 formations. If Harry Kane plays as a withdrawn forward (and he can, as he has shown against Real Madrid), then Lamela and Son could make some inside runs and score some goals.

They showed us the damage that they could do to the opposition when they were deployed together, in the absence of Harry Kane, in an emphatic 2-0 victory over Manchester City last year.

In Eriksen and Alli, Spurs have 2 players who have excelled as central midfielders. Due to their abilities to cover long distances each game (Eriksen covered the most distance in EPL games last season), Tottenham can press high up the pitch and also retain the ball in midfield. Eric Dier, a great holding midfielder, could act as a defensive cover for the pair.

When playing in the 3-4-3, Tottenham faces a major setback in the back three, that is if one of Alderwiereld, Vertonghen or Sanchez is not available. Alderwiereld and Vertonghen were arguably one of the best defensive pairs in Europe last season.

Davinson Sanchez has shown a lot of promise with his strength and sense of position. But in the last 2 matches due to the absence of Alderweireld, Eric Dier (who quite frankly, is not one of the best in such a position) replaced him at centre back.

In this 4-3-3 system, it would be wise to go for Aurier-- a ferocious tackler-- and Davies above Rose and Trippier, due to their excellent sense of defensive positioning, something very important in such an offensive system or else Spurs would be leaking goals for fun like Liverpool.

According to me, the only thing restricting Spurs from playing in such a system is the lack of squad depth in attack. To be honest, in this formation the only decent substitute that Pochettino will have at his disposal will be Harry Winks, with Llorente and N’Kodou very much out of favour.

With a bit of good business in the winter, Pochettino will have under him a team - aggressive in pressing, swift on the counter and stable at the back. Spurs fan will hope that by winter they will have a team with the attacking capability to break down even the most crowded of defences.