Worse than Mathys Tel, Tottenham player with 0.02 stat should be axed vs Aston Villa

Roberto De Zerbi is expected to make several changes after Tottenham Hotspur were knocked out of the Carabao Cup.

Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai were all on target at Anfield on Tuesday, 15 September, with only Conor Gallagher hitting back.

Having been knocked out of the competition, Spurs' full focus needs to be on the Premier League, in which they are sitting 17th in the table after four games.

After splashing over £300million on the likes of Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Savio, so much more is expected from the Lilywhites.

None of those names were on the teamsheet against the Reds, though Fernandes and Savio did feature as substitutes ahead of the weekend's clash.

While all the players struggled in the game, Mathys Tel was especially targeted on social media, having lost possession 15 times in total [Sofascore].

Rodrigo Bentancur can't feature vs Aston Villa

There was one player far more frustrating than the French winger, though, and that was veteran midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.

The 29-year-old lasted just 57 minutes before being hooked for Fernandes, with the yellow card that he picked up on the stroke of half-time meaning he was walking a tightrope.

In that time, he lost possession six times, created an xA of just 0.02, was dribbled past once, lost 50 per cent of his ground duels, and committed two fouls [FotMob].

It was hardly an uncharacteristic display from the former Juventus man. He is known for lazy challenges in the middle of the park, or sometimes stopping counter-attacks.

Bentancur is far from what De Zerbi needs against Aston Villa on Saturday, 19 September, and the manager has several options available ahead of the clash.

Which other Tottenham players should be axed?

Bentancur and Tel are not the only ones who should be rested for the clash against Villa, though De Zerbi won't want to make too many changes.

Omar Marmoush showed some positive signs, but it might make more sense to have him on the left flank, with Dominic Solanke up front.

Mohammed Kudus is still returning from his long-term injury as well, so it is entirely possible that the tricky winger comes off the bench instead.

Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke both need to be reinstated to the lineup, which likely means Marcos Senesi and Tosin Adarabioyo being dropped.