After three defeats in a row and another disappointing display away at Watford over the weekend, Benitez has hinted at making a few changes once again ahead of tonight’s clash with Tottenham at Wembley.
Aside from one last push to secure our place in the top 10, there’s little riding on our final two games of the season, so a few little tweaks to the team could give us some fresh impetus ahead of this one.
Without further adieu, here’s the side I’d like to see Rafa try out against Tottenham tonight:
Preferred NUFC XI – (4-3-2-1) – Dubravka– Yedlin, Lascelles, Lejeune, Dummett – Diame, Shelvey, Merino – Ritchie, Kenedy – Perez.
So, this’d mean Gayle, Murphy and Manquillo OUT and Merino, Ritchie and Yedlin in.
Perez has looked brilliant in front of goal recently, but an out of sorts, under confident Dwight Gayle has looked anything but.
I’d also argue that Perez, despite some of his fine finishes, has struggled to create and deliver that killer final pass from that number 10 role, so pushing him up the pitch and putting in Merino ahead of Shelvey and Diame could work well.
Ritchie and Yedlin also did more in 10 minutes on Saturday than Murphy and Manquillo did all game, so they’re two players I’d like to see back for a tough test like this.
Let me know your thoughts folks – it’s a long shot, but would you be happy if Benitez tried this out tonight?
