Villas-Boas To Rest Key Names Ahead of Tottenham's European Clash

Andre Villas-Boas will rest Jan Vertonghen and Paulinho for Tottenham's Europa League clash with Anzhi Makhachkala.

The Belgian centre half has started and completed Tottenham's last three games over a period of just six days, while summer signing Paulinho has also been a consistent starting figure in midfield during that period.

Having already expressed his frustration with fixtures piling up earlier in the season, Villas-Boas is keen to hand a rest to some of his more established first team players as his club's European campaign gets into full swing. With a squad bustling with options across all positions, the manager feels he has the required depth and quality on hand to make the required changes.

"We made that decision because both players (Vertonghen and Paulinho) were involved in the game (against Aston Villa) two days after we played Cardiff," Villas-Boas was quoted as saying by Tottenham's official website.

Kyle Walker, who has played every minute of Tottenham's Premier League campaign so far this season, was left out of the Tottenham squad that defeated Tromso 3-0 in match week one, but could feature in Russia.

"Kyle Walker has travelled, but we rested him for the game against Tromso," Villas-Boas continued. "The logic is to rest these three players between these fixtures.

"Our strength in depth allows us to do that, so Jan hasn't travelled, neither has Paulinho."

The Europa League has so far given the Tottenham manager the opportunity to make the most of his expansive squad and discover how his new attacking talents gel, a process which has yielded moderate success thus far.

The Portuguese manager handed Lewis Holtby just his second start of the season in their last European game where the German played just off striker Jermain Defoe, who found the back of the net twice, one of which was provided by the former Schalke schemer.

Both men have been overlooked for the likes of Roberto Soldado and Christian Eriksen in Premier League outings since the closure of the transfer window, but have proved to be a potent option in other competitions, including the Capital One Cup where Holtby provided three goals in a 4-0 win over Aston Villa, two of which were dispatched by Defoe.