---------------------------Lloris----------------------------
Chiriches----------Fazio-------------Verts-----------Davies
----------------Stambouli------------Bentaleb------------
Lennon--------------------Eriksen---------------------Chadli
----------------------------Kane-----------------------------
Subs: Vorm, Dier, Rose, Mason, Dembele, Lamela, Soldado
Rationale:
- You don't drop Bentaleb after one bad game: he's a young lad, and what he needs is positive reinforcement. We keep confidence in him, and let him learn on the job.
- Walker's rusty. And presumably tired. Chiriches isn't.
- Stambouli didn't have a great game against Leicester (and still looks slower than players in his position generally are), but he's still pretty much our only purely defensive option next to Bentaleb (Mason is far less conservative), and we'll need him to track one of the trio of Falcao, Rooney and Van Persie as they make runs into the box from deep positions: he's probably the only player we have who is tactically disciplined enough to play that role.
- Lennon will give us some cover on the right for Chiriches, and will also offer fresh legs and pressing up front, which will hopefully counteract the effect of tiredness on Kane
- Kane's selection is a bit forced, tbh. All things being ideal, I'd give him a rest going into this one, as he's pretty evidently run himself into the ground over the past few weeks. But he's the only one we have who can consistently score right now (save for perhaps Eriksen) and benching him while he's on this kind of form will be a mistake, imo. So, some more running required, Harry. Come on, you can do it, lad. Rest is just around the corner, surely.
