Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
George Smith

Moussa Sissoko drops Instagram hint over Jose Mourinho's Tottenham team selection vs Palace

Tottenham Hotspur will be targeting a fourth successive win in all competitions when they welcome Crystal Palace to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this evening.

Spurs, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Palace at Selhurst Park back in December, continued their winning run in midweek with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

A first half own-goal from Tosin Adarabioyo was enough to seal all three points for Jose Mourinho's side, handing them a second successive league victory following on from last Sunday's 4-0 hammering of Burnley.

Although Spurs got the job done against Fulham on Thursday evening, they had to dig deep and give it everything they had got, despite Gareth Bale, Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane all starting in a devastating-looking front four.

Jose Mourinho unsurprised Wilfried Zaha is fit to face Spurs

At the back, though, Mourinho was questioned for handing starting berths to both Matt Doherty and Ben Davies in the full-back positions, with rotation being the secret behind the Portuguese chief's decision.

Spurs are facing a mammoth period at this moment in time with the fixtures continuing to come thick and fast, both domestically and in Europe. After tonight's showdown with Palace, Spurs return to Europa League action in midweek when they face Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

With that in mind, it is quite possible that Mourinho could make changes once again this evening in an attempt to keep his squad fresh with the business end of the season looming large.

In Mourinho's favour, injury problems are minimal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at this moment in time, as midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, who has been sidelined since December, is the only confirmed absentee for tonight's clash with Roy Hodgson's men.

Despite the Argentine's continued absence, Mourinho is still spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding on his midfield trio, with Moussa Sissoko, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele and Alli all fit and available for selection.

Against Fulham, Mourinho opted to have Hojbjerg and Ndombele screening the back-four and Alli operating just ahead of them and acting as the attacking-midfielder.

But with the fixtures piling up, could Mourinho be tempted to change that this evening?

On the face of it, it could well be the case if Sissoko's social media activity is anything to go by.

Taking to Instagram, the former Newcastle United man has posted a fixture advertisement graphic, suggesting that he is looking forward to the challenge against Palace and could be in line to return to the starting line-up.

Interestingly, several other members of Spurs' squad have done the same when starting matches this season.

However, it should be noted that other players have done the same in the past when only named on the substitutes bench and not in the starting line-up.

This season, Sissoko has started 14 times in the Premier League but has not started any of Spurs' last five in the league.

In all, the Frenchman has racked up 33 appearances in all competitions for Spurs this term, scoring just one goal.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.