Tottenham Hotspur is looking to prolong their fantastic start under new boss Thomas Frank as they face Doncaster Rovers in the third round of tonight’s Carabao Cup.
Lily White only experienced once defeat in the first six competitive excursions in all competitions.
This kind of game allows Dane to spin the first team team and hand over the hands to players who struggle to resolve roles that start their precious time periodically.
It is important for managers to find a balance between youth and senior first team options. Grant McCann’s team has already thrown championship opposition in Middlesbrough before this tournament.
Frank may have to make bold changes to his side. It could potentially drop one player, already incredible form at the beginning of the campaign.
Why Richarion is dropped against Doncaster
The regular nine Dominique Solanke was injured in the opening stage of the season, so Richarrison nodded to lead the line with his new manager.
The Brazilians were not impressed by the recent season, but Frank’s arrival gave him a lease of new life and found the back of the net on three occasions already.
He won the net twice on the first day of the season with Burnley, the latter of the latter two strikes being selected as the club’s goal in August.
The 28-year-old also found the back of the net in a clash with Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
The former Everton star has been featured in 348 league minutes of the league season and may require desperate rest to avoid another injury.
While this may seem like a controversial decision given his recent form in North London, he may need to have one player on the bench to give Lily White’s unusual start.
Spurs player to make his first start tonight
During the offseason, the Spurs made many impressive additions that have already bolstered the options at Frank’s disposal for his first year of helm.
Mohamed Kudus was the most expensive summer addition, costing £55 million from local rival West Ham United.
The Ghanaian has already registered four assists for the club, and then James Madison became the first player to register two assists for the club’s debut.
Players like Xavi Simons and Joao Palhinha also arrived during the offseason, and later solidified their positions as regular starters for the first team team.
But the same cannot be said about Matisse Ter after the French striker made a permanent entry from Bayern Munich during the summer transfer period.
Such a move has created a great deal of excitement within the fanbase, but he has yet to have a major impact under Frank in the first month of his spell in the Premier League.
Mathys Tel – Spurs career so far | |
|---|---|
statistics | totalling |
The game has been played | twenty four |
I played a few minutes | 1321 |
The goal scored | 3 |
assist | 1 |
Yellow Card | 3 |
Red card | 0 |
Average rating | 6.75 |
Statistics via FOTMOB | |
The 20-year-old has only appeared in the league once and has only featured 98 minutes in the top flights in England in his previous 2025/26 campaign.
This lack of action might be a surprise given the impressive tally of three goals in 20 appearances for Lily Whites last season, and the Frenchman was given the perfect opportunity to hand over an unusual start tonight.
Labeled “Incredible” by one analyst, Tel was still able to make an impression despite his limited actions, despite registering 81% passing accuracy and 50% dribbling success rate.
He also scored 5.5 duels per 90 and 1.8 fouls per 90, poses a constant threat to the opposition backline.
Given his exclusion from the Champions League team in the 2025/26 campaign, the Carabao Cup could be a great opportunity for Tel to win a valuable first team.
It also gives Richarrison the chance to get the necessary rest after spending his minutes early in this campaign, potentially giving the French the opportunity to stake his claims for the role of the start.
