Tottenham appear to be taking the Carabao Cup seriously approaching tonight’s fixture.
Tottenham’s fixture pile up this week has not been kind to them.
It left manager Mauricio Pochettino with tricky selection decisions to make, with two matches in three days at home to Manchester City in the Premier League and away to West Ham in the Carabao Cup.
Remarkably he seems to be giving the cup competition equal if not greater priority, if reports are to be believed.
Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen both were benched, along with Harry Winks who also sat out against PSV.
Changes are expected this evening, and Harry Kane could be rested.
BBC Sport report Alli and Eriksen are set to start against West Ham.
This balance is a fair way for Tottenham to even their priorities, and it is a departure from Mauricio Pochettino’s approach last season where he appeared to treat cup competitions with some disdain.
Last season it was unthinkable that he would have rested key players for a Premier League game for the sake of a cup match.
Pressure on the club to win silverware has added to Tottenham’s need to field a strong team against West Ham tonight.
A U-turn from Mauricio Pochettino is welcome because a push to win trophies will lift some of the current gloom which is threatening to engulf the club.
Selecting a dramatically weakened team would have invited criticism which Tottenham do not currently need.
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