Tottenham have a fully-fit squad ahead of Saturday’s home game with Stoke, and Mauricio Pochettino says his biggest problem is picking his squad for the match.
Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who fractured his wrist during the summer, was only fit enough for the bench at Manchester United at the weekend, while Danny Rose and Andros Townsend were in the treatment room.
However, the trio are all in contention to start the Premier League clash against Mark Hughes’ Potters, while 22-year-old Alex Pritchard is also in the frame after recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the European Under-21 Championship in June.
“This week was fantastic for everyone,” said Pochettino at today’s press conference. “All players are fit and this is good news for us. The only shame is we can only pick 18 players for Saturday.
“Hugo and Alex Pritchard played on Monday for the Under-21s against Everton, and Danny Rose and Townsend are training in a normal way. Danny had a little problem last week but he’s been training in a normal way.”
Stoke did the double over Spurs last season, winning 2-1 at the Lane and then triumphing 3-0 in the reverse fixture in May – and Pochettino is keen to strike back.
“It’s true we lost the last two games that we played at White Hart Lane and the Britannia Stadium, but it’s a good opportunity to take our revenge,” he said.
“It’s a different season. We’re happy with our performance, [although] disappointed with the result, against Manchester United. I think the way we played, our performance was good. We need to show on Saturday that we deserved more.”
Stoke have been busy in the summer transfer market, strengthening their squad by bringing in the likes of Ibrahim Afellay and Xherdan Shaqiri.
Pochettino said: “I think their activity was high, I think they’ve signed 12 players and they invest a lot of money. The last signing was Shaqiri, a very good player, but every club has their philosophy and for us and for me I’m very happy with the way that we take and the way we work.”
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