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Mauricio Pochettino must make a decision on Tottenham Hotspur’s right-back position ahead of the Champions League final against Liverpool.
Kieran Trippier and Serge Aurier are two of the weakest links in the squad and, in Madrid, they will surely have to face off with one of the finest wingers in the game, Sadio Mane.
On the chalkboard
Trippier has endured a nightmare season.
After a World Cup campaign last summer that saw him score a genuinely world-class free-kick against Croatia, he has appeared to actively regress this term.
Per WhoScored, his form in the Champions League, across his seven games, is perhaps better than that in the Premier League; he averages 2.5 tackles per game, plus 0.7 fouls, 2.3 clearances and a mere 0.2 blocks.
Going forward, in Europe, he averages 3.3 key passes per game – compared to 1.8 in the Premier League – and has two assists in the competition.
His passing, though, ironically, leaves a lot to be desired. Despite his key passes statistic, his success rate is just 76.1% and, for a right-back, he averages just two crosses per game. For a player who is meant to bomb forward and provide chances for his attacking players, that simply isn’t good enough.
Aurier, by comparison, has made five Champions League appearances, and averages 1.6 tackles per game, along with 0.8 fouls, 2.4 clearances and, again, 0.2 blocks.
He is better at bringing the ball out – he has 1.4 dribbles per 90 to his team-mate’s 0.8.
Aurier has just 0.6 key passes per game, though, despite his one assist – a peach of a cross to Jan Vertonghen against Borussia Dortmund – and a pass completion rate of 77.8%. He also lays on a total of 0.8 crosses per game which, for a full-back, is execrable.
Trippier’s opportunity
Trippier probably has to play.
Aurier remains a fitness doubt and he does not quite have the discipline of the Englishman, which really is a damning indictment on his own abilities.
Playing Trippier as a full-back in a 4-2-3-1 is the best option; if Aurier plays, he probably needs to have three centre-backs behind him and that would constitute a shift to a five-at-the-back formation and rob Spurs of the attacking thrust they have to utilise to win the game.
The 28-year-old has shown that he has the ability to step up to the plate in the big games and he was genuinely superb at the World Cup.
If he can replicate that form in Spain, Spurs have an excellent chance of being crowned European champions.
If not, expect Mane to run riot.