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A potential ban for this Tottenham player has come at the wrong time for Mourinho’s side – opinion

Dele Alli has apologised this week for a joke he made about the outbreak of coronavirus on social media while at an airport, where he appeared to mock an Asian man. The Football Association have written to the Tottenham Hotspur player to ask his observations regarding the post, and he could be facing the prospect of a fine and ban similar to the one Bernardo Silva received in November. The Portuguese midfielder was reprimanded after posting a tweet that compared teammate Benjamin Mendy to a character from a chocolate brand and received a £50,000 fine and a one-match ban.

Should Alli suffer similar punishment, there is a possibility the England international could miss Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to struggling Aston Villa on February 16th. The match bears significance as Sheffield United have pulled two points in front of Spurs in the Premier League table, while Everton below have closed the gap to just one point.

Additionally, Manchester United will face Chelsea, with the Red Devils just two points behind Jose Mourinho’s side, while the Blues are four points in front. Failing to beat Villa could see Spurs drop three places to ninth in the table, but securing a win could leave the north London side just a point off the Champions League places.

Therefore, it is essential that Mourinho can overcome the struggling Midlands club and without leading goal scorer Harry Kane, he requires all the firepower at his disposal in forward areas. Currently, Alli is on track to produce his best Premier League goalscoring figures since 2016/17, having found the back of the net seven times in 18 top-flight appearances this season. The 23-year-old has been restored to a more advanced central role with the departure of Christian Eriksen, and it has seen him thrive, as he is a master of occupying spaces that disrupt opposition defences.

Aston Villa have the joint-worst defensive record in the Premier League this season having conceded 47 goals in 25 matches; however, their form in the last five games appears to have turned a corner. Dean Smith’s side have collected seven points in that period, to lift themselves out of the bottom three, and Mourinho will require all the attacking options at his disposal to overcome them. Therefore missing Alli would be a significant blow and with Eriksen gone, few other players in the squad can fulfill the playmaker role.

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