Four Tottenham changes Thomas Frank can make vs Chelsea to combat horror 12-man injury list

Thomas Frank is poised to issue a Tottenham injury update on Friday ahead of Saturday's highly-anticipated London derby against Chelsea. The Dane currently has 12 first-team stars sidelined meaning his squad is being stretched to its limits.

Captain Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke are edging closer to a return but it's currently unclear whether any of those will be available to face the Blues.

James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski remain long-term absentees while Radu Dragusin will be back after the international break to provide a much-needed boost at the back.

Yves Bissouma has just undergone ankle surgery but like Kota Takai, he is yet to feature for Spurs this season. There is also still no timeframe on Ben Davies' return.

Wilson Odobert could be back this weekend but Archie Gray is set to miss several weeks of action after picking up a calf problem in the goalless Champions League draw at Monaco.

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However, it's not all doom and gloom because Micky van de Ven is poised to return to the starting XI after enjoying some rest in midweek.

There are a few selection headaches that Frank must navigate but Tottenham could still field a very strong team that is more than capable of picking up a result.

The Spurs boss said on Wednesday night at St James' Park that he expects Guglielmo Vicario to be available, so he should return in place of Antonin Kinsky between the sticks.

The back-four currently picks itself with Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Van de Ven and Djed Spence all in line to start.

Joao Palhinha should then be pushed back into midfield alongside Rodrigo Bentancur in the engine room.

Mohammed Kudus is poised to operate from the right flank after starting on the bench at Newcastle, where Xavi Simons was bright.

Simons could feature from the left and there will be some debate as to who should start in the advanced midfield role.

If that's not Simons, Pape Matar Sarr or Lucas Bergvall should get the nod. Sarr has a good record against the so-called Big Six.

He starred in the 2-0 win over Manchester City in August, netted against City in the Carabao Cup last season and scored his first-ever Spurs goal against Manchester United.

This is the kind of game where his energy and enthusiasm, pressing from midfield, could be a valuable asset. Equally, the same could be said of Bergvall's creativity.

In attack, Randal Kolo Muani should be given the chance to get off the mark for Tottenham.

The Frenchman played well last weekend at Everton and he's fresh after starting on the bench at St James' Park where Richarlison did not do enough to keep his place in the team.

How we think Tottenham should line up vs Chelsea : Vicario; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Bentancur; Kudus, Sarr, Simons; Kolo Muani.