Emerson starts, Lo Celso waits - The Tottenham team Ange Postecoglou should pick vs Burnley

Our Tottenham reporters at football.london have named the teams they would pick for Saturday's Premier League home clash against Burnley

Home comforts could be exactly what Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham need after four successive Premier League defeats. Burnley are this weekend's opponents and it provides a chance for Spurs to get back to winning ways.

It is a match of huge importance in north London with Burnley needing a win in order to keep their Premier League survival hopes alive as they currently trail Nottingham Forest in 17th by five points. For Tottenham, three points is a must when it comes to the race for the European places.

There is still an outside chance of Spurs finishing in the top four but they would need Aston Villa to collapse in the run-in as they currently hold a seven-point advantage. The worry for Spurs now is that Newcastle United are only four points behind them and they are in good form at a time when the north London club's momentum has fallen to pieces.

So who should Postecoglou select in his Tottenham XI to take on Burnley this weekend as they look to bounce back from the Liverpool loss? Our football.london writers have named the teams they would pick below.

Rob Guest - Football writer

Ange Postecoglou will more than likely switch things up in regards to his Tottenham team to take on Burnley following last weekend's defeat to Liverpool. The big talking point heading into the game is over who will start at left-back after Emerson Royal struggled at Anfield.

Spurs do not have a lot of options in that position at present and that may result in the Brazilian keeping his place unless Postecoglou wants to play Oliver Skipp there from the first whistle. Apart from his woes at left-back against Liverpool, Emerson has fared well on the whole this season when he has operated on the left and it wouldn't be a surprise to see Postecoglou give him the nod there once again. After all, he's not going to be coming up against Mohamed Salah this week.

READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou has Tottenham wildcard and three other options as he makes left-back decision

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Changes will also likely take place in the middle of the park with Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr at risk of dropping down to the bench. James Maddison will probably come back in and Giovani Lo Celso made a case for a starting spot with a positive showing in the closing stages against Liverpool.

Starts have been extremely hard to come by for Lo Celso, though, and he may once again have to settle for a bit-part role off the bench unless the head coach wants to give him a rare chance. In attack, Richarlison has to start after such a good performance after his introduction at Anfield.

Tottenham look so much better with the ex-Everton man as a focal point up front, which is unfortunately something Son Heung-min cannot provide as that's not his game. Brennan Johnson and Son will start either side of the Brazilian in Spurs' front three.

Guest's team: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson; Bissouma, Lo Celso, Maddison; Johnson, Richarlison, Son.

Joe Doyle - Content Editor

In goal it's a simple choice with Guglielmo Vicario. And for three quarters of the defence, it's the same for me: Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven start.

The left-back slot is definitely up for grabs, but I think Emerson Royal starts despite his poor showing against Liverpool. While he was at fault for two goals, he's not up against Mohamed Salah this week and so I think the attacking side of his game will come to the fore with Spurs likely to dominate the ball.

To grab that lion's share of possession, I think the midfield should be a trio of Yves Bissouma, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and James Maddison. I think it's a pretty balanced side, and despite some struggles individually for them recently, a game against a scrapping Burnley gives them a chance to set down a marker and prove they deserve to be in consideration beyond this summer.

In attack, I think Brennan Johnson deserves a starting role on the right, with Son Heung-min on the left and Richarlison through the centre following his impressive cameo off the bench at Anfield.

Doyle's XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson; Bissouma, Hojbjerg, Maddison; Johnson, Richarlison, Son.

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