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Alasdair Gold & Rob Guest

Ndombele handed rare chance, no Bale - The Tottenham team Mason should pick vs Aston Villa

Another three points is a must when Tottenham return to Premier League action on Wednesday evening.

Moving into sixth on Sunday with a comfortable 2-0 win over Wolves in north London, Aston Villa this time make the trip down to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the penultimate round of the 2020/21 season.

Now level on points with West Ham but ahead of the east London club due to their superior goal difference, Ryan Mason's team need to put themselves in the best possible position going into the final day as they have a very tough game on the agenda against Leicester City.

So who should Mason name in his XI to take on Villa as Spurs look to make it four home wins on the bounce under their interim head coach?

Our Tottenham reporters have named the team that they would like to see take on the Midlands side.

Alasdair Gold - Tottenham Hotspur correspondent

Ordinarily, Ryan Mason would not want to change up a winning team but having just two days between matches might alter those plans.

A decision will have to be made about Gareth Bale and whether the 31-year-old can manage two starts in such quick succession or whether Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn or Erik Lamela get a chance.

Japhet Tanganga is likely to keep his spot if Serge Aurier is not fit and if Bale does play, the young Spurs defender might still get the nod anyway.

While many Tottenham fans would like to see Joe Rodon and Tanguy Ndombele involved, it's more likely the Frenchman who might come in if Mason feels some fresh legs are needed in the centre of the pitch.

Gold's team: Lloris; Tanganga, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Lo Celso, Hojbjerg; Bale, Dele, Son; Kane.

Rob Guest - Tottenham Hotspur reporter

The fact Mason's side will only have had a couple of days to rest means he should freshen things up slightly as it's a very important week for the team.

Although Serge Aurier may have recovered in time from the groin injury that kept him out at the weekend, Japhet Tanganga deserves to keep his place in the side after a strong showing against Wolves.

Jack Grealish could be back in the Aston Villa team and Spurs ideally could do with a defensively-minded right-back to keep him quiet as he can really influence things for Dean Smith's men.

Giovani Lo Celso did play well at the weekend but the engine room could do with some fresh legs in there, thus meaning Tanguy Ndombele comes in from the off for the first time since the win over Southampton.

It may also be wise to give Gareth Bale a slight breather ahead of the trip to Leicester and that means Lucas Moura gets his chance once again.

Guest's team: Lloris; Tanganga, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Ndombele; Lucas, Alli, Son; Kane

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