Tottenham coach says must be ‘very careful’ over players’ fitness

Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo is going to be “careful” about his team selection for the north London derby on Sunday.

Spurs head to the Emirates to face their fierce rivals in what will be their fourth game in 11 days and they have players at different stages of fitness.

“Each and every one of our players has to be really careful,” Nuno said. “We have to be really careful in how we decide and all these things, because we have different players in different momentums in terms of preparation.

“But I believe in the moment we are in that we must use the games and the matches to increase our levels of fitness, our levels of performance and the technical aspects of the team.

“So we still have a session to go. Friday was the second day of recovery after the Carabao Cup game and on Saturday we will look at them and make the decisions.”

Lucas Moura will return to the squad after missing the last two games with an ankle injury, giving Nuno more options in attack.

Spurs are getting numbers back after a tricky time after they were robbed of several players following the international break earlier this month.

“What truly helps is that you have more options,” Nuno said. “As many options as you have, the more solutions you can provide.

“We didn’t have, not only in attack but in defence, we had some problems. We had to adapt after the international break.

“What I believe is having all the squad, all the players available, gives you more options in terms of how you want to start, what options we have to change, eventually creating different plans because the players are what can change the dynamic of the game.

“Having Lucas back gives you another option, and a very good option because Lucas is a very talented player.”