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Norwich City vs Tottenham: My Starting XI

With four out of seven of Norwich City’s January additions in contention, Alex Neil’s team selection for this evenings game against Tottenham at Carrow Road will make for interesting reading. With rumours of a sick bug hampering Neil’s options, accompanied by the doubt as to whether some of the new signings are ready for a place in the starting line-up, predicting tonight’s side is difficult. Therefore, rather than predicting what the Scot will opt with, I will put myself in his shoes and go with the team that I feel gives City the best possible chance of achieving a positive result against an in-form Spurs side:

GK: Declan Rudd
While I am not as convinced as some appear to be about Rudd’s credentials as a Premier League Number One, I don’t think that tonight is the time to make another change in goal. After all, anyone would struggle with our ‘leaky’ (being kind) defence in front of him. That being said, I am certain in saying that I would rather have an in-form John Ruddy in goal than Declan Rudd - but will we ever see Ruddy reach such form again?

RB: Ivo Pinto
The January signing from Dinamo Zagreb had a bit of a baptism of fire against Liverpool. The majority of Norwich fans seemed to be impressed by his debut but, while offensively he looked good, his positioning was a bit all over the place - but then again, who’s wasn’t? I will give him a few more games at least before making judgement. He certainly has some class about him, we will soon see quite how much!

CB: Timm Klose
I am still bemused by the fact that fellow January addition Timm Klose did not start against Liverpool. Alex Neil cited reasons pointing towards the Swiss’ lack of match sharpness having just had a winter break at Wolfsburg, but if you spend £7.6million to improve a defence that can’t get much worse, then you have to start him! He couldn’t have done much worse than Russell Martin. He has to start tonight.

CB: Sebastien Bassong
Based on form shown this season then the second centre back spot should, for me, be Ryan Bennett’s. However, if there is one flaw that Klose supposedly has then it is lack of pace. A combination of Bennett and Klose would be extremely vulnerable to the pace of the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli and, for all his faults, I think Bassong’s little extra mobility could come in useful this evening. To be honest, as long as Russell Martin is nowhere near the centre-back berth then I will be content!

LB: Martin Olsson
I think it is time for the return of Martin Olsson at left-back. While Brady, on the whole, has been extremely solid in the position, against Liverpool he was shaky at times and it was his suicidal header across goal that allowed Lallana to score the fifth. I also feel that we lose a lot going forward (especially as Matt Jarvis has been fairly ineffective since returning from injury) when he’s played in his less natural, defensive position.

CM: Alex Tettey
Illness prevented him from featuring against Liverpool and he was sorely missed. There is no-one quite like him in the squad capable of doing the dirty, covering work that so often goes un-noticed. While the defence did themselves no favours, their cause was not helped by the lack of protection from Howson and Dorrans in front of them. With Tettey back in the side and providing this shield in front of the back four we should, in theory, be more solid.

CM: Jonny Howson
Having had a disappointing start to the campaign, Howson is beginning to look like the player that we have come to love in a City shirt. Through his driving runs from midfield and the lethal shot that he has in his locker, he provides us with a threat going forward while his passing ability helps us to keep the ball flowing in midfield.

LM: Wes Hoolahan
First name on the team-sheet. While Wes can often be bullied on the ball and be targeted by sides, he is far and away our most creative player and without him we are not the same side. No-one can unlock defences quite like Wes and I dread the day that he finally departs - although having just signed the highly-rated James Maddison maybe we have his natural successor already on our hands.

RM: Nathan Redmond
Probably the hardest decision. In pretty much a parallel opposite to the fortunes of Jonny Howson, after a brilliant start to the season Redmond has been extremely disappointing in recent weeks. He seems to lack the confidence to commit defenders and rarely ever utilises his pace, while his end product is returning to the hapless levels of his early Norwich career. However, with his aforementioned pace he provides us with something slightly different and everyone knows that on his day he can win us games. After such a lacklustre run of form, surely this day can’t be too far away? If he does start then one thing is for sure, he will have to offer Pinto far more defensive support than he did against Liverpool.

ST: Steven Naismith
Superb against Luverpool, the Scot looked a class above anything else we had and in turn demonstrated what a pivotal role he is going to play between now and the end of the season. His movement, sharp link-up play and predatory eye for goal is bound to cause Tottenham problems.

ST: Dieumerci Mbokani
While he hasn’t got the goals to show for it, the Congolese appears to be benefiting from a sustained run in the side. His hold-up and link-up play has come on huge amounts and the performance against Liverpool highlight what a fruitful partnership could be forged between him and Naismith. I expect that the goals that his performances have warranted will soon begin to flow as this partnership develops.