Tottenham Hotspur face Liverpool on Saturday without Dele Alli and, with Harry Kane yet to find his best form, it could be Lucas Moura’s time to shine.
Tottenham Hotspur did not make any signings over the summer and instead went with a squad that featured only one unknown quantity: Lucas Moura.
The Brazilian joined from Paris Saint-Germain in January and spent the last half of the 2018-19 season finding his feet.
Heading into the new campaign, however, it still wasn’t clear how much Mauricio Pochettino could rely on him, making him quite the gamble as they passed up the opportunity to sign another player to lessen the risk.
Lucas has been outstanding, though, completely justifying the faith in him so far as he was awarded the Premier League Player of the Month for August.
Saturday brings about the first big test for the Brazilian and his role at Tottenham as they host league leaders Liverpool at Wembley.
It is the biggest game of the season so far for both sides, and one that will see the top six contenders ask for that extra bit of magic from their forward lines to give them the necessary edge
The real problem for Spurs is that Dele Alli is out injured, Son Heung-Min has only just returned from an international tournament, and Harry Kane still looks off his best form.
So the expectation will be on Lucas and Christian Eriksen to provide any spark Tottenham need, and that is by far the biggest test for the player yet.
If he can prove himself on a stage as big as this with the pressure on his back, Tottenham’s lack of spending and faith in the winger will be well and truly justified.
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