Tamworth vs Tottenham LIVE: FA Cup team news as non-league side host Spurs in third round

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou will not underestimate FA Cup minnows Tamworth, but has hinted key duo Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke may get an overdue rest on Sunday.

Spurs travel to National League club Tamworth buoyed by a midweek Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool, but are still without at least eight players for this third-round tie.

Tottenham have struggled over the past six weeks with a packed schedule coupled with injury problems, which has resulted in Kulusevski and Solanke starting each of the last seven games.

“We have got to be mindful of we don’t want it to turn into a tricky game for us, we want to make sure we play our best,” Postecoglou said.

“But hopefully we can rest at least a couple of players from a full 90 minutes of football.”

Ange Postecoglou has promised Tottenham will give Tamworth the utmost respect and insisted the non-league club’s artificial pitch is an improvement on the toad-infested surface he once encountered in Fiji.

Spurs will aim to navigate a huge banana skin on Sunday when they face National League opposition Tamworth in the FA Cup with 96 places between the clubs ahead of the plum third-round tie at The Lambs Ground.

When quizzed on Tamworth’s artificial surface, Postecoglou recounted a tale from his time as South Melbourne boss when they won 5-1 against Nadi in the final of the 1999 OFC Club Championship, which sent them through to FIFA’s Club World Championship where they faced Manchester United.

“Warming up there were toads we had to remove, which kept jumping on the pitch,” Postecoglou said.

“At the time, you’re kind of going ‘really?’, but when you realise what was at stake, a fair bit of money and the opportunity to play at the Maracana against some of the best teams in the world, we ended up playing Man United, Vasco de Gama and Necaxa of Mexico, it was quite extraordinary.”

Tamworth vs Tottenham will kick off at 12.30pm GMT on Sunday 12 January at The Lamb Ground in Tamworth, England.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on ITV1, with coverage starting at 11.45am. Subscribers will also be able to stream the match online on ITVX.

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Tamworth are in 16th place in the National League ahead of today’s game, and they are still on the edge of the relegation scrap in England’s fifth tier, sitting just seven points above the drop zone.

Meanwhile, Postecoglou has turned around Spurs’ fortunes in recent weeks, having beaten Liverpool in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final in midweek.

And this tie will provide the Australian with a much-needed chance to rest some key players amidst an injury crisis in defence, with Spurs likely to field a youthful starting eleven as they make the trip to Staffordshire.