Tottenham have named James Maddison in the starting XI for Tottenham vs Coventry, his first start in 17 months. Tosin Adarabioyo also gets a full debut in defence as Roberto De Zerbi turns to a reshuffled side for Monday night’s meeting with Coventry.
Maddison back from the sidelines
The return of Maddison is the headline. He has made only four Premier League appearances this season and has played just 75 minutes, so this is a proper reset rather than a routine selection call.
De Zerbi’s line-up also gives Adarabioyo a bigger role than he has had so far. He has made only one Premier League appearance for Tottenham this season and has played just five minutes before this start.
The bench has its own interest too. D. Kulusevski is among the options, and Luca Williams-Barnett could make his Premier League debut if needed.
Pressure around the selection
Tottenham go into the game without the suspended Rodrigo Bentancur, while Savio and Lucas Bergvall are injured and unavailable. De Zerbi also said Pedro Porro could be back for Saturday’s match at Chelsea, which gives the club another possible change point later in the week.
The bigger issue is still the state of the team sheet now, not the one on Saturday. Tottenham have only three points from six league matches, and the selection against Coventry has the feel of a manager trying to settle the side without much room for error.
Coventry arrive in better league shape, sitting 16th with six points, but the immediate story is Tottenham’s line-up and the two names on it that stand out most.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
