BBC Sport: Tottenham forward ruled out of clash v West Brom
Tottenham forward Erik Lamela has been ruled out of the clash against West Brom at The Hawthorns on Sunday, according to BBC Sport.
The broadcaster reports that Lamela, 28, will miss his side’s trip to the Black Country with a “niggling problem“.
BBC Sport adds that Serge Aurier and Sergio Reguillon are also doubts for Spurs this weekend with Aurier missing the midweek clash with Ludogorets due to a minor injury and Reguillon suffering from an illness.
Tottenham are unlikely to be weakened by the absence of Lamela on Sunday.
Although the Argentina international has been used regularly by Jose Mourinho this season with him appearing 10 times in all competitions and scoring two goals, he’s only been named in two of the Spurs manager’s starting line-ups for the league.
Spurs are likely to go with Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane in the forward areas while Gareth Bale is also an option for the Londoners.
Aurier and Reguillon’s availability is perhaps more interesting because they are likely to be Mourinho’s first-choice full-backs.
Ben Davies and ex-Wolves right-back Matt Doherty will most likely occupy those full-back areas for Spurs if Aurier and Reguillon cannot play.
Both are still good players so no matter which way West Brom look at it, this game is still going to be a very tough one.
And with speculation rife about Slaven Bilic’s future at The Hawthorns, it could be a very decisive game at The Hawthorns ahead of the final international break of 2020.
We don’t fancy West Brom to get anything out of this but every now and then the Baggies spring a surprise against one of the big boys.
Last time we won in the Premier League was when Jake Livermore netted a last-minute winner against Spurs in 2018 when Darren Moore was in charge.
We’ll take a repeat of that, please.
In other West Brom news, Bilic could axe one player for a decisive match against Tottenham this weekend.
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